chicagotribune--2020-10-01--FDA says U. of I.’s COVID-19 saliva test never had emergency use authorization touted by Gov. Pritzk

FDA says U. of I.’s COVID-19 saliva test never had emergency use authorization touted by Gov. Pritzker, university in August

The email from the FDA also pointed out other online links outside of the university “ where the authorization status @ @ @ @ @ to be mischaracterized.
” One of those links was to an Aug. 19 tweet by @ @ @ @ @ “ has just given the green light under their Emergency Use Authorization powers .
”

With great fanfare, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced over the summer that a new saliva-based COVID-19 test developed by the University of Illinois had been granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, calling this “some of the best news” since the pandemic began.
The FDA, however, says the university’s test has never operated under an emergency use authorization, as the governor and university leadership have repeatedly claimed.
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“The University of Illinois is not authorized under an umbrella emergency use authorization, and they have not had an emergency use authorization,” an FDA spokesman said.
The university can continue to administer its saliva-based test — which has already been used to test tens of thousands on campus and in the university community — but had to change the language it uses regarding FDA regulation.
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The university blamed the situation on confusion over FDA protocols. The university said it believed the saliva-based test had earned emergency use authorization through a study comparing it with a separate FDA-authorized test developed by Yale University researchers.
On Aug. 19, a university news release stated that the school is “now performing its new rapid, saliva-based COVID-19 test under the umbrella of an approved FDA Emergency Use Authorization.”
Nancy Markstahler collects a sample as COVID-19 saliva testing is conducted on July 7, 2020, in a tent outside the Alice Campbell Alumni Center on the University of Illinois campus. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The statement went on to say the university performed a bridging study to a recently approved FDA emergency use authorization “showing that the Illinois test performs at least as well as the recently approved saliva-testing protocol.” The news release referenced a similar COVID-19 saliva test recently developed by Yale School of Public Health researchers, which did receive FDA emergency use authorization.
At a news conference, Pritzker had called the U. of I.’s test potentially “game-changing.” The news was reported by media outlets nationwide, including the Chicago Tribune.
University spokeswoman Robin Kaler said the university “conducted what we understood to be a bridging study,” based on the university’s understanding of the FDA’s May Policy for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Tests During the Public Health Emergency, as well as a subsequent email from the FDA.
“You’ll note that at every step of the way, we were doing our very best to follow the guidance and direction from the FDA and that we have never performed our test out of regulatory compliance,” she said in an email.
But the FDA in a recent phone conversation asked the university to stop using the terms “bridging study” and “umbrella,” according to Kaler.
In a follow-up email on Sept. 21, an FDA official highlighted in yellow various statements from university websites and blogs about the saliva test “that we find to not appropriately represent the status of your test and which may be contributing to the misunderstandings regarding your test.”
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“We understand that some of this confusion may have stemmed from a misunderstanding of the word ‘bridging,’” the email from the FDA official added. “Your test is not considered within the authorization of the Yale SalivaDirect (emergency use authorization), nor has it received its own authorization from the FDA.”
University officials said they have since revised the wording on various online documents, including information on campus COVID-19 testing on the university website.
“We immediately updated the language to be consistent with their direction,” Kaler said.
The email from the FDA also pointed out other online links outside of the university “where the authorization status of your saliva test seems to be mischaracterized.” One of those links was to an Aug. 19 tweet by Pritzker stating that the FDA “has just given the green light under their Emergency Use Authorization powers.”
Pritzker’s office referred questions about FDA authorization to the university.
“If the regulatory situation has changed since the announcement, those questions should be answered by the University of Illinois,” a spokeswoman for the governor said in an email.
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Since the university’s August announcement, the federal government has changed its guidelines for laboratory-developed tests like the one created by the U. of I., no longer requiring FDA emergency use authorization if the lab is appropriately federally regulated, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Despite the federal guidance change, university officials say they are still seeking FDA emergency use authorization for the saliva test.
The university in early July began using the saliva-based test, which was developed in its laboratory that’s CLIA-certified, meaning it’s approved and regulated by federal agencies.
Medical experts say saliva-based tests have many benefits compared with typical nasal swab tests, including requiring less personal protective equipment for clinicians and fewer testing supplies amid a national shortage. The test also tends to be less uncomfortable for patients than nasopharyngeal swab tests.
So far, 38,000 people have been tested using the university’s saliva-based test, Kaler said.
“Our test continues to play a critical role in allowing us to monitor and prevent the spread of COVID-19, and our seven-day positivity rate is at 0.36%,” she said.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-01--On city’s first day of early voting for Nov. 3 election, Chicago voters flock to Loop Super site: ‘I

On city’s first day of early voting for Nov. 3 election, Chicago voters flock to Loop Super site: ‘I’ve been thinking about this day for a long time’

“ I think everyone should take it seriously , ” Nickson said .
“ For an African American woman who @ @ @ @ @ have the right to vote , my grandfather … talked about that and how important @ @ @ @ @ and you should never take that lightly .
Even if your candidate doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ part .
”

For Lesley Jones, the 2½-hour wait was worth it.
The 52-year-old said he walked from his South Loop home early Thursday and stood outside the Loop Super Site starting at 6 a.m. to be one of the first to cast an early vote in the Nov. 3 election. Jones said he is a habitual early voter and feared a big turnout on day one, so he happily got up before dawn to avoid the crowds.
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“I didn’t intend to be the first one,” Jones said. “I just intended to be in the first group. But being the first one, I mean, it kind of makes you a little happy.”
There still was a crowd — just behind Jones and around the corner of Clark and Lake streets. By 8:30 a.m., when the doors opened, the line snaked past North Dearborn Street and almost reached West Randolph Street. Voters, wrapped in coats as the first chill of fall crept in, brought foldable lawn chairs and books to pass the time.
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Before the doors to the Loop Super Site opened, Lesley Jones, 52, is first in line to vote and waits with dozens of other early voters at the Loop Super Site in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2020. The lines stretched out to the corner and nearly around the block. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago officially kicked off the city’s first day of early voting Thursday at the Loop Super Site, 191 N. Clark St., now open seven days a week through Election Day. As a sign of pandemic times, the blue booths were more spaced out, and poll workers had masks and hand sanitizer on hand. By about 2:50 p.m., 960 people had voted in-person, a Chicago Board of Elections spokeswoman said.
The scene at the Loop Super Site had an air of solemn determination as voters shared an urgency in casting their ballots this year. Many said it seems the country’s partisan rancor has turned people against one another for worse — as evidenced by Tuesday night’s acrimonious debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, one said — and that life had become especially harder for people of color.
They believed casting a ballot would make a difference in the nation’s trajectory, no matter how small, and felt some relief that in a year when a pandemic halted the world as they knew it, the right to vote was still there. Meanwhile, others had reservations about mail-in voting, despite election officials repeatedly assuring the integrity of those ballots.
Joe Henley was one of the first dozen early voters, having arrived around 7 a.m. after driving from his Bronzeville home. It was also the first day of his furlough from being a flight attendant, but the 37-year-old remained in good spirits as he waited to cast his vote.
“I’m ready to do it,” Henley said. “I’ve been thinking about this day for a long time, watching on the election calendar to make sure I know what day that early voting begins and what time it started. And then I wanted to be early.”
Henley said he feared that especially with a pandemic going on, waiting until Election Day would leave open the possibility that he would get sick and not be able to vote. He trusted the tried-and-true mail-in voting system, he said, but he thought he might as well vote in person since he has the ability.
To Henley, the 2020 election will determine the future direction of America.
“This year is very important for my vote to count, as it is every time,” Henley said. “But this year, more than ever, I wanted to make sure my vote counted. I wanted to be here the first day.”
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Monique Nickson echoed the sentiment that she felt this election was one of the most consequential in her lifetime. She said it wouldn’t matter if it had been below freezing on Thursday — she would be there.
“I’m very excited about voting this time,” Nickson, 49, said while waiting in line about 9:50 a.m. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had this much energy. Normally, it’s just a matter-of-fact thing to do, I’m going to vote. But this time, no, I’m excited. I am.”
Early voters take a photo together after casting their vote at the Loop Super Site in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Nickson, a human resources employee, drove to her Loop office from Chatham and was able to walk to the polling site because her company allowed workers two hours off to vote on Thursday. Nickson said she usually votes early, although she considered a mail-in ballot this year in light of the pandemic until hearing news of possible U.S. Postal Service delays under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Now, she feels most secure filling out her ballot in person.
Nickson never takes her right to vote for granted, and neither should any American citizen, she said.
“I think everyone should take it seriously,” Nickson said. “For an African American woman who my grandparents did not always have the right to vote, my grandfather … talked about that and how important it is to vote, and you should never take that lightly. Even if your candidate doesn’t win, you did your part.”
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Mary Irvin had planned to vote by mail, but there was a hiccup. The 80-year-old was confused by instructions on her ballot that caused her to check both judge candidates running in a race, she said. So she and friends lined up around 8 a.m. after taking a bus and a walk from the South Loop.
“It’s not clear at all,” Irvin said. “The reason I’m not dropping my mail-in ballot in is because I messed up on something because it’s not clear directions. So that’s another reason why I’m here.”
Nonetheless, Irvin was cheerfully chatting with her friends and strangers as she waited. She was grateful the sun was out and skies were clear, she said.
Others were less than pleased to see dozens already lined up by the time they arrived. A woman waiting on Dearborn left the line less than 10 minutes before the doors opened, though more voters quickly added to the crowd minutes after.
A woman on the corner of Lake and Randolph exclaimed, “Oh s---! That way?” when she saw the throng. “Yes, ma’am,” someone responded.
Two-time mayoral candidate and businessman Willie Wilson also strolled around the line before polls opened, bumping fists with people who recognized him. He is running a third-party challenge against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, but not everyone seemed to be aware.
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“What you running for?” a man at the front of the line inquired. “U.S. Senate,” he replied.
Hours of the Loop Super Site are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Election Day hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. All 50 wards will open their polls on Oct. 14, and the locations of the ward sites can be found at chicagoelections.gov/earlyvoting. Suburban Cook County voters can begin early voting in person later this month as well.
Trisha Rich exits the Loop Super Site after voting on Oct. 1, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
The high interest on the first day of early voting comes as the state is anticipated to break a record of voting by mail this election, with the number of voters requesting mail-in ballots reaching almost 2 million as of Thursday morning, according to state election officials. People who want to vote by mail need to have their ballot envelope postmarked by Election Day.
If voters applied and were approved for a mail-in ballot but decide to vote in person instead, they must bring their mail-in ballot with them to an early voting location and surrender it to an election official. Voters who apply for a mail-in ballot but don’t receive one can vote in person but must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury.
Chicagoans stopping by the Loop site Thursday joined nearly 70,000 people from the rest of the state who already early voted. About 3:30 p.m., a soft drizzle settled in, but voters were still revolving in and out of the building.
Diana Monaghan, 56, said she hardly minded the rain after this week’s Trump-Biden debate, which she called “a mess” — and the reason she wanted to be one of the first to vote in Chicago.
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“That was the impetus for getting here sooner,” Monaghan said. “It feels great. ... There’s been a lot of turmoil in this country and a lot of division, and it’s time for that to end.”
ayin@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-10-01--Under fire amid federal corruption probe, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan faces a new challen

Under fire amid federal corruption probe, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan faces a new challenge from a fellow Democrat

“ I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his @ @ @ @ @ they can be infected , they can be mistreated , they can sit and suffer @ @ @ @ @ being properly treated and ultimately die .
And we are talking about our nation ’ @ @ @ @ @ said .
The remarks garnered national media attention .

With a federal corruption investigation circling around longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, four-term Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego said Thursday she will challenge the powerful Southwest Side Democrat for leadership of the chamber when the new General Assembly is seated in January.
Kifowit is one of a handful of House Democrats who have called for Madigan’s resignation since Commonwealth Edison admitted to federal prosecutors earlier this year that it engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme aimed at currying favor with the speaker.
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“The people of Illinois have put up with these scandals and corruption for far too long,” Kifowit said in a news conference at a downtown Chicago hotel. “Every day, we are seeing more and more revelations of self-serving actions by Michael Madigan, and it is honestly my feeling that in the upcoming days and weeks, we’re going to see a whole lot more of those, folks.”
Kifowit’s decision to challenge Madigan a month before the election puts vulnerable House Democrats and Democratic candidates, particularly in the suburbs, in an even more awkward position leading up to the election — whether to back Madigan, her or someone else.
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It is a question many were hoping to wait out until after the election despite repeated attacks by Republicans on the issue. But her run provides new fuel to the issue.
“I believe that Speaker Madigan should step down as speaker of the House,” Kifowit, a Marine Corps veteran who is running unopposed in November, said in an interview. “Members of the House have that decision, and it’s important. It’s an important decision that I think that needs to be talked about, needs to be discussed.”
“There will be an alternative in the 102nd General Assembly," she said.
Kifowit, who highlights her work aimed a preventing suicide among veterans as a top legislative accomplishment, said lining up the 60 votes she’d need to be elected speaker is “a work in progress.”
Kifowit’s decision opens one more crack in Madigan’s political armor after previous calls by some Democrats that he give up his governmental position, his chairmanship of the state Democratic Party, or both. It also could portend potential other challenges to Madigan’s leadership down the road.
House Speaker Michael Madigan attends Gov. J.B. Pritzker's budget address at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Feb. 19, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Madigan has not been charged in connection with the ComEd probe and has denied any wrongdoing, but has been under fire ever since the utility’s deferred prosecution agreement was unveiled in July.
He issued a statement Thursday saying he is “focused on the November election and addressing the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the workers, families and people of Illinois.”
“I have spent my entire career supporting Democrats, regardless of differences in perspective within our party," Madigan said. “We are at a critical juncture in our country, and all of us should be focused on coming together to defeat Donald Trump and repair the hate and division he has sown in our communities. We have a lot of work to do.”
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Some House Democrats want debates about Madigan’s fate put off until after the Nov. 3 election, contending it is a political distraction to major ballot issues such as efforts to defeat Trump and to encourage voters to back Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push for a state constitutional amendment to shift from a flat-rate income tax to a graduated-rate system that rises with income.
There are questions about the extent of support for Kifowit’s candidacy. Madigan, who oversees a 74-44 Democratic majority in the House going into the election, still holds the power and controls the purse strings in the Democratic caucus and has made loyalty paramount during his decadeslong tenure as speaker.
Kifowit’s own campaign fund has been a beneficiary of Madigan’s support over the years. From 2011 to 2019, she received nearly $792,000 in contributions from three campaign funds controlled by the speaker, most recently three small-dollar contributions from Friends of Michael J. Madigan in November 2019.
She said Madigan being labeled “Public Official A” in the ComEd deferred prosecution agreement was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” in terms of her support for the speaker.
One key to Madigan’s power and longevity has been his ability to build a complex, statewide multimillion dollar political organization, financed largely through allies in organized labor and civil trial attorneys, to fund House Democrats and Democratic contenders.
Asked if she could put together a coordinated, comprehensive campaign organization, Kifowit replied: “Absolutely. Marines have a vision and we go after it.”
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The state Republican Party quickly pounced on Kifowit’s announcement, with Chairman Tim Schneider saying in statement that Democratic candidates will no longer be able to dodge “the Madigan question.”
“A favorite excuse is gone,” Schneider said. “They have a choice. House Democrats can be complicit in Madigan’s corrupt ways destroying Illinois and their party, or they can turn the page and vote for the other Democrat running.”
Kifowit’s state legislative tenure has included one notable gaffe. In 2018, she apologized to then-Republican Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard for comments she made during a debate on the House floor over legislation designed to help families affected by a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans Home. Breen had suggested the legislation would be a boon for personal injury lawyers.
“I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one, so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated and ultimately die. And we are talking about our nation’s heroes,” Kifowit said. The remarks garnered national media attention.
She issued a statement the next day calling it a “poor choice of words during a serious discussion on our veterans' health and safety.”
In late July, Madigan acknowledged the concerns of his members over the federal investigation but said he had no plans of stepping down from his leadership posts.
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“I understand that the last couple of weeks have been difficult for our caucus and party, and I have had many candid conversations with members of the Democratic caucus on this matter,” Madigan said in a statement.
“The feedback is positive and demonstrates continued support for me and my leadership roles,” Madigan said. “I have no plans to resign. I have never made a legislative decision with improper motives and any claim otherwise is unfounded.”
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Separately from the federal probe, a special House committee is investigating whether Madigan engaged in “conduct unbecoming to a legislator” in light of ComEd’s actions. The committee, formed at the request of House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs, heard testimony from an executive with ComEd parent Exelon this week, but Madigan and other witnesses have declined the invitation to testify.
During a videoconference with reporters Thursday, the three Republican members of the special investigating committee applauded Kifowit for taking a stand but stopped short of throwing their support behind her. The lawmakers said they were not aware of Kifowit reaching out to any GOP members for support.
GOP Rep. Deanne Mazzochi of Elmhurst said Kifowit could demonstrate her leadership by rallying other Democrats to join Republicans in effort to subpoena Madigan to testify before the committee investigating his conduct. The committee’s chairman, Democratic Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside, on Tuesday dismissed a Republican effort to compel Madigan’s testimony as “premature.”
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Madigan has been speaker since 1983, with the exception of two years in the 1990s when Republicans took control of the House. House Democrats have been nearly unanimous in voting for him to remain speaker, with only a few dissents. Most recently, Rep. Anne Stava-Murray of Naperville voted “present” in 2019, as did then-Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood in 2017.
Stava-Murray, who also has called on Madigan to step down, said Thursday that she is not ready to commit to backing Kifowit but is “grateful that she’s stepped up to run against the speaker.”
But come January, “if Rep. Kifowit is the only one who’s stepped up, I will be supporting her,” said the freshman lawmaker, who faces a reelection challenge from Republican Laura Hois of Downers Grove.
Another House Democrat who has called on Madigan to resign also was not prepared to back Kifowit.
“Although it’s my hope that every Democrat is laser focused on Nov. 3, I also hope she is the first of many who want to share their vision for how we can do things differently,” said Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, who was appointed last summer to the seat vacated by now-Sen. Robert Martwick.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-01--South Holland firefighter, 29, dies following dive training exercise in Kankakee quarry lake

Cunningham attended Thornwood High School in South Holland , where he excelled as a multisport athlete , according to a @ @ @ @ @ received an associate degree of fire science at Prairie State College , then later trained @ @ @ @ @ chemical , biological , radiological and nuclear specialist for the Illinois Army National Guard .
@ @ @ @ @ received a Gold Seal from the South Cook County EMS medical director for his work @ @ @ @ @ an EMS call .

Firefighters salute as the body of South Holland firefighter Dylan Cunningham is brought to the Cook County medical examiner's office after Cunningham died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital following a dive training exercise in Kankakee. (Village of South Holland)
A South Holland firefighter and member of the Illinois Army National Guard died Wednesday night following an underwater dive training exercise, South Holland village officials said.
Dylan Cunningham, 29, of Thornton, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 10:40 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, following the training exercise at Haigh Quarry Lake in Kankakee.
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J. Wynsma, administrator for the village of South Holland, read a brief statement at a televised morning news conference, after which he refused to answer questions.
“As you can imagine, this is a very difficult day for all of us. There are a lot of hurting people in the building behind me,” he said.
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Cunningham, a firefighter-paramedic, had been with the South Holland fire department in a part-time role since 2011. In 2018, he was promoted to the position full-time, Wynsma said. Beginning in 2012, he also served in the Illinois Army National Guard.
South Holland firefighter Dylan Cunningham, 29, died following an underwater dive training exercise. (Village of South Holland)
Wynsma did not provide additional information about the training exercise, or when or how it became clear Cunningham was experiencing a medical emergency. The circumstances leading to his death are under investigation. The Cook County medical examiner’s office did not determine a cause of death following a Thursday autopsy as the office awaited completion of further investigation.
“We know you have many questions, and so do we. Our efforts will bring conclusions that we will share with you in the coming days,” Wynsma said.
Cunningham attended Thornwood High School in South Holland, where he excelled as a multisport athlete, according to a village news release. He received an associate degree of fire science at Prairie State College, then later trained in Poland to become a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist for the Illinois Army National Guard. In October 2018, he received a Gold Seal from the South Cook County EMS medical director for his work in saving a patient on an EMS call.
“Dylan was a beloved member of our team,” South Holland fire Chief Brian Kolosh was quoted in the news release. “He was dedicated, loyal, hard-working, and also a lot of fun to be around. We are devastated by this loss and are grieving with Dylan’s family.”
The village said Cunningham lived in Thornton, Illinois, with his fiancee and was expecting a child. His mother, Rosemary Cunningham, is a trustee for the village of Thornton.
Wynsma said he and Pat Mahon, deputy village administrator, handled Cunningham’s swearing in to his position in 2018 and called him “a very special young man.”
“In the days ahead we will be doing everything we can to support the Cunningham family. We ask that you keep Dylan’s family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers,” he said.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-01--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Chicago won’t cancel Halloween as Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveils pand

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Chicago won’t cancel Halloween as Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveils pandemic rules; 2,166 new known COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths reported Thursday

Stress is also what makes the annual admiring of foliage — aka leaf peeping — so poignant this pandemic year @ @ @ @ @ stressed , yet so is everyone else , ” said David Lorenz , vice president @ @ @ @ @ agency that produces those nearly somnolent , stress-relieving “ Pure Michigan ” tourism spots .
@ @ @ @ @ sacrifice and hunkering down — leaves change colors because their trees are prepping for months @ @ @ @ @ fall foliage is all metaphor and melancholy .
Because “ nothing gold can stay ” @ @ @ @ @ we spend three too-short months noticing what Gwendolyn Brooks called “ summer-gone.
” We wonder @ @ @ @ @ comfortable it will be to touch the earth ” ( Mary Oliver ) .
We @ @ @ @ @ need for calm .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday unveiled a series of rules for Halloween that she said will allow people to celebrate safely, including a requirement that everyone including candy-givers wear masks.
Among the rules, candy-givers are asked to leave a light on or hang a sign in their window letting people know whether they’re participating in the holiday while following social distancing rules and providing hand sanitizer. Trick-or-treaters are asked to stay on the move in groups of six people or fewer.
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The mayor’s announcement came as Illinois public health officials on Thursday reported 2,166 newly diagnosed cases and 25 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 295,440 known cases and 8,696 deaths.
Additionally, on Wednesday state public health officials warned the central Illinois region around Champaign-Urbana could be hit with stricter restrictions on restaurants, bars and other businesses as the percentage of positive coronavirus tests is on the rise.
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Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:30 p.m.: House Democrats pass partisan $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as talks on smaller measure drag on
Democrats controlling the House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Thursday night, a move that came as top-level talks on a smaller, potentially bipartisan measure dragged on toward an uncertain finish. An air of pessimism has largely taken over the Capitol.
The Democratic bill passed after a partisan debate by a 214-207 vote without any Republicans in support. The move puts lawmakers no closer to actually delivering aid such as more generous weekly unemployment payments, extended help for small businesses and especially troubled economic sectors such as restaurants and airlines, and another round of $1,200 direct payments to most Americans.
Passage of the $2.2 trillion plan came after a burst of negotiations this week between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The Trump administration delivered concessions Wednesday, including a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and a markedly higher overall price tag of $1.6 trillion, but that failed to win over Pelosi.
“This isn’t half a loaf, this is the heel of the loaf,” Pelosi said in a televised interview Thursday. Pelosi spoke after the White House attacked her as “not being serious.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:45 p.m.: Hope Hicks, one of President Trump’s closest aides, tests positive for coronavirus
Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Hicks, who serves as counselor to the president and traveled with him to a rally Wednesday, tested positive Thursday, according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private health information. She is the closest aide to Trump to test positive so far.
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Hicks traveled with the president multiple times this week, including aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter, to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate.
Read more here. —Associated Press
5:25 p.m.: In August, Pritzker said FDA had given emergency use authorization to the U. of I.'s saliva-based COVID-19 test. FDA now says it never issued any such OK.
With great fanfare, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced over the summer that a new saliva-based COVID-19 test developed by the University of Illinois had been granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, calling this “some of the best news” since the pandemic began.
The FDA, however, says the university’s test has never operated under an emergency use authorization, as the governor and university leadership have repeatedly claimed.
“The University of Illinois is not authorized under an umbrella emergency use authorization, and they have not had an emergency use authorization,” an FDA spokesman said.
The university can continue to administer its saliva-based test — which has already been used to test tens of thousands on campus and in the university community — but had to change the language it uses regarding FDA regulation.
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The university blamed the situation on confusion over FDA protocols. The university said it believed the saliva-based test had earned emergency use authorization through a study comparing it with a separate FDA-authorized test developed by Yale University researchers.
Read more here. —Angie Leventis Lourgos
5 p.m.: Suburban judge rejects attempt to revive high school football during pandemic
A DuPage County judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order that might have helped high school football and other contact sports return this fall, saying the Illinois High School Association is within its rights to delay the sports for safety reasons.
“We are in a pandemic, and I think what the IHSA did was within their authority under (the organization’s) bylaws and constitution,” Judge Paul Fullerton said Thursday.
The parents of four high school athletes had sued the IHSA, saying the group violated its own rules in agreeing to delay football, boys soccer and girls volleyball — sports the Illinois Department of Public Health determined were at medium to high risk of virus transmission — until the spring.
Read more here. —John Keilman
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2:50 p.m.: State of Illinois says haunted houses are not allowed to operate, but several are already open
In what would seem to be a stake through the heart of commercial haunted houses open for the Halloween scare season, an Illinois Department of Public Health statement issued Wednesday said those businesses were not allowed to operate.
Along with suggestions about safe ways to trick-or-treat during the pandemic, the directive said that haunts “currently are not allowed in Restore Illinois Phase 4.” An earlier Phase 4 FAQ from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said indoor haunted houses “should remain closed.” (Hayrides and “haunted trail”-style attractions are allowed with COVID-19 precautions in place, since outdoor activities are considered less risky.)
That earlier FAQ came Sept. 25, during what was the unofficial opening weekend for haunted houses in the Chicago area.
About six large indoor haunts currently are open across the suburbs — places like The Massacre in Montgomery and 13th Floor in Melrose Park. The latter of those is run by the Denver-based Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, a national franchise; the rest are locally owned. (None of them is in Chicago.)
Read more here. —Doug George
1:53 p.m.: Chicago ‘Tamale Guy’ Claudio Velez discharged from hospital after more than a month due to COVID-19
Claudio Velez, owner of the Tamale Guy Chicago restaurant, previously known as the patron saint of late night drinkers at bars across the North Side of the city, was discharged Thursday afternoon from Rush University Medical Center hospital.
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Velez was hospitalized with COVID-19 Aug. 27, and placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. He had opened his long-awaited namesake restaurant just two weeks earlier, with lines 10 blocks long and two hour waits.
A GoFundMe for Velez’s medical expenses has raised more than $56,000 to date. His family had planned to close the fundraiser. They decided to keep it open until Velez could decide for himself as his condition improved.
Read more here. —Louisa Chu
1:30 p.m.: Chicago won’t cancel Halloween as Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveils pandemic rules for the holiday
Halloween in Chicago isn’t canceled after all.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday unveiled a series of rules for the holiday that she said will allow people to celebrate safely, including a requirement that everyone including candy-givers wear masks.
Candy-givers are also asked to leave a light on or hang a sign in their window letting people know whether they’re participating in the holiday while following social distancing rules and providing hand sanitizer, according to the city’s rules.
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Trick-or-treaters are asked to stay on the move in groups of six people or fewer, avoid sticking their hand into candy bowls, and wait until they get home and wash their hands to eat candy, the rules said.
The city doesn’t want to see any haunted houses this year and also forbids house parties “large or small,” the rules said.
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
1:02 p.m.: Christkindlmarket cancels in-person holiday markets in Chicago and Milwaukee, will begin selling online instead Nov. 1
Organizers of Christkindlmarket have canceled the popular outdoor holiday market and moved it online as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hamper large-scale events and travel.
The event, which typically takes place at Daley Plaza and in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood, will be virtual this year from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
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12:11 p.m.: 2,166 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional deaths reported
Illinois public health officials reported Wednesday they had logged 2,166 newly diagnosed cases and 25 additional confirmed deaths of people with COVID-19, raising the statewide tally to 295,440 known cases and 8,696 deaths.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:41 a.m.: White House ups offer to $1.6 trillion in last-ditch COVID-19 relief effort
The White House is backing a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit and is dangling the possibility of a COVID-19 relief bill of $1.6 trillion as last-ditch, pre-election negotiations hit a critical phase Thursday.
The offer by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on unemployment is higher than many Republicans would like in any potential COVID deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Significant, possibly unbridgeable hurdles remain.
After Pelosi said the new offer still fell short, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the speaker was “not being serious” in the negotiations.
“We raised our offer to $1.6 trillion,” McEnany told reporters Thursday. “It’s one that she is is not interested in.”
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Mnuchin and Pelosi are scheduled to talk by phone early Thursday afternoon, a Pelosi spokesman said.
The Trump administration is pressing for an agreement, more so than Capitol Hill Republicans.
Read more here. —Associated Press
11:05 a.m.: ‘I’m ready to do it’: Chicago voters flock to Loop Super Site on city’s first day of early voting in Nov. 3 election
While in-person early voting for Chicago voters began Thursday at the Loop Super Site location, all 50 wards will open their polls on Oct. 14. The locations of the ward sites can be found at chicagoelections.gov/earlyvoting. Suburban Cook County voters can begin early voting in person later this month.
The poll booths will be more spread out at the sites than usual to comply with coronavirus social distancing rules, said Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Masks will be available for voters who arrive at polling sites without them, she said.
People who want to instead vote by mail need to have their ballot envelope postmarked by Election Day, Hernandez said. If voters applied and were approved for a mail-in ballot but decide to vote in person instead, they must bring their mail-in ballot with them to an early voting location and surrender it to an election official. Voters who apply for a mail-in ballot but don’t receive one can vote in person but must sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury.
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Read more here. —Alice Yin
10:25 a.m.: In ‘painful’ decision, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago cancels 2020-21 season
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago said Thursday that it has canceled its entire 2020-21 season at the Lyric Opera House.
The canceled programing includes the world premiere of Cathy Marston’s “Of Mice and Men” and the Joffrey premiere of George Balanchine’s “Serenade” (slated for Feb. 17-28, 2021), as well as the Chicago premiere of John Neumeier’s “The Little Mermaid” (April 21-May 2, 2021). Previously, Joffrey had canceled this fall’s production of Kenneth MacMillan’s “Manon” (Oct. 14-25) and the first staging at the Lyric of Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Nutcracker” (December 5-27), typically a huge source of revenue for the company and a highlight of the holiday season in Chicago, drawing tens of thousands to the Loop.
The Joffrey said that the decision, sparked by the COVID-19 crisis, will cost the non-profit institution in excess of $9 million at the box office. A philanthropic fund, dubbed the Joffrey Crisis Stabilization Fund, has been set up to address the disparity and cover basic operations costs through the fall of 2021.
Read more here. —Chris Jones
9:30 a.m.: Illinois launches small business COVID safety program to help workers and customers returning to the office
After six months of working from home, many small businesses are facing a new challenge — how to safely return to the cubicle farm in the age of COVID-19.
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The Illinois Department of Labor is launching the “Back to Business” program to help small businesses protect workers and customers as they begin to reopen.
“There’s so many businesses now that are wanting guidance on how to come back safely,” Mike Matulis, an Illinois Department of Labor spokesman, said Wednesday. “This is aimed at giving them the best guidance for keeping their customers, employees and visitors … from getting sick.”
Open to businesses with 250 or fewer employees, the program combines online training with a virtual consultant — a Department of Labor employee — to navigate everything from configuring office space to quarantining a symptomatic sales manager.
Read more here. —Robert Channick
7:10 a.m.: Lightfoot, Arwady to announce Chicago plans regarding Halloween
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady were scheduled to announce plans Thursday afternoon “for a safe and healthy Halloween.”
Arwady has previously talked about possible restrictions the city could put in place for Halloween revelry. Asked specifically about door-to-door trick-or-treating, the health commissioner has said there’s still time to get cases down, but things will certainly be different from normal.
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“We’re going to have to have guidance that will be different in some way. I’m not going to get into the details of exactly what that’s going to look like,” she said. “People have said, ‘Are you canceling Halloween?’ I’m not canceling Halloween. We are going to be thinking about how to do this in ways that are as safe as they can be.”
State health officials Wednesday released guidelines for the holiday Wednesday, urging trick-or-treaters to socially distance on Halloween, while cautioning the holiday is best celebrated without the usual celebrations.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Column: As arts in Chicago and the nation suffered, the Kennedy Center in D.C. was about to open a nightclub on its roof
Of all the strange and desperate cultural stories to emerge from a pandemic that has sent daggers straight through the heart of the performing arts in America, here is one of the weirdest. It comes from Washington, D.C. (where else?) and is the tale of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a planned rooftop nightclub called, believe it or not, “Heist.”
There was a sudden reversal Wednesday. But first some backstory.
In March, the Kennedy Center found itself on the defensive after the Congress earmarked $25 million within the initial $2.2 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill. Around Capitol Hill, there was some predictable back-and-forth with Republicans complaining that Democratic members had privileged a “swanky opera house” over needier causes, but the Kennedy Center and its allies were able to effectively counter by rightly reminding people that it was a job creator, a crucial cultural asset and a shuttered institution so deprived of critical revenue as to be in the middle of an existential crisis not of its own making.
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All of that was true. The Kennedy Center is a glorious place. The bigger issue, though, which neither party seemed to see, was that the politicians' notion of earmarked arts relief was limited to their own back yards.
Read more here. —Chris Jones
5 a.m.: A nervous person’s guide to viewing fall foliage in the Midwest. —
Watching leaves turn color and drop dead — “Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away” (Emily Bronte) — may be one of the few activities this autumn you can do safely, without too many caveats. Maybe don’t get into a bus full of leaf peepers this year. Maybe don’t call yourself a leaf peeper to begin with. Look, just stay in your car, OK? Roll down the window and peep, then roll up the window. Peep with familial peepers. Maybe don’t stay overnight, all right? Do I sound stressed? I am stressed. Here’s the thing: So are trees.
Stress creates fall foliage.
Stress is also what makes the annual admiring of foliage — aka leaf peeping — so poignant this pandemic year. “The trees are stressed, yet so is everyone else,” said David Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan, the agency that produces those nearly somnolent, stress-relieving “Pure Michigan” tourism spots. Scientifically, foliage is all sacrifice and hunkering down — leaves change colors because their trees are prepping for months of austerity. Aesthetically, fall foliage is all metaphor and melancholy. Because “nothing gold can stay” (Robert Frost), we spend three too-short months noticing what Gwendolyn Brooks called “summer-gone.” We wonder if leaves dream “how comfortable it will be to touch the earth” (Mary Oliver). We ascribe to foliage our own need for calm.
Read more here. —Christopher Borrelli
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Corrections and clarifications

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· In some early editions of Wednesday’s paper, a front-page story about the first presidential debate included a misspelling of Sen. Kamala Harris' first name.
The Tribune regrets the error.
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Publishing information quickly and accurately is a central part of the Chicago Tribune’s news responsibility and a value shared in all our publications. Our editorial code of principles governs professional behavior and journalism standards. Everyone in our newsroom must agree to live up to this code of conduct. Download the file.
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chicagotribune--2020-10-01--Suburban judge rejects attempt to revive high school football during pandemic

In court , attorney Jeffrey Widman argued that because Gov .
J.B. Pritzker hasn ’ t issued an executive order @ @ @ @ @ acted on its own to rearrange its calendar of competition .
And to do that @ @ @ @ @ needed the consent of its member schools , which it didn ’ t get .

A DuPage County judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order that might have helped high school football and other contact sports return this fall, saying the Illinois High School Association is within its rights to delay the sports for safety reasons.
“We are in a pandemic, and I think what the IHSA did was within their authority under (the organization’s) bylaws and constitution,” Judge Paul Fullerton said Thursday.
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Football players from Wheaton Warrenville South High School walk to the DuPage County Courthouse before a hearing on a lawsuit filed against the Illinois High School Association to reinstate athletics from COVID-19 restrictions, Oct. 1, 2020, in Wheaton. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The parents of four high school athletes had sued the IHSA, saying the group violated its own rules in agreeing to delay football, boys soccer and girls volleyball — sports the Illinois Department of Public Health determined were at medium to high risk of virus transmission — until the spring.
In court, attorney Jeffrey Widman argued that because Gov. J.B. Pritzker hasn’t issued an executive order on sports, the IHSA acted on its own to rearrange its calendar of competition. And to do that, he said, it needed the consent of its member schools, which it didn’t get.
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Postponing the season is harming the mental health of athletes who play those sports, he said, and is potentially robbing some of them the opportunity to earn scholarships, especially as most other states have gone forward with their seasons.
“There is no remedy but to let them play,” he said.
IHSA attorney David Bressler retorted that other executive orders issued by the governor cover competitive sports, so the fix sought by the parents was irrelevant. What’s more, he said, no school has challenged the IHSA’s decision to postpone the sports seasons.
Naperville Central High School student athletes Ethan Pytlak and his brother Hayden exit the DuPage County Courthouse on Oct. 1, 2020, in Wheaton. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
In his decision, Fullerton said the IHSA’s decision appears to fall within the bounds of its authority. Though he expressed sympathy for the young athletes who are watching their opportunities vanish, he noted that the country is enduring a once-in-a-century hardship.
“Drastic times, drastic remedies,” he said.
Outside the courthouse, one of the plaintiffs, David Ruggles, whose son plays basketball at Wheaton Warrenville South, said he thought that season will be diminished, too, though he wasn’t sure if he would continue the legal fight.
Though young athletes like his son can move to other states to continue their athletic careers — something a number of Illinois football players have done — not everyone is so fortunate, he said.
“Nobody’s advocating for the kids on this whole thing," he’s said. "We’re making them carry the weight of the entire experience.”
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jkeilman@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @JohnKeilman


chicagotribune--2020-10-01--The Spin: Chicago-based presidential debate official weighs in on mute button | Dems, GOP turn up th

The Spin: Chicago-based presidential debate official weighs in on mute button | Dems, GOP turn up the heat on Speaker Madigan | Lightfoot dons 'Rona Destroyer’ Halloween costume

O ’ Brien issued his own statement , saying : “ This campaign is one of the most important and @ @ @ @ @ .
It is my belief that voters deserve to know the substantial differences between the @ @ @ @ @ and eager to debate Ms. Foxx on the record .
After last night ’ s @ @ @ @ @ voters of Cook County want and deserve nothing less than a real debate on the @ @ @ @ @ Alice Yin has the details here .

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland. (Olivier Douliery/Pool vi AP) (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AP)
In case you missed it, Mayor Lori Lightfoot wore a “Rona Destroyer” costume, complete with a cape, a Lone Ranger-style mask and a picture of Clorox wipes as a faux shield, for a news conference on how to safely mark Halloween amid the pandemic. Check it out here. Wait for the memes.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, which determines the rules of engagement with a nod from the candidates, is considering a mute button for the next faceoff between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.
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Yes, America, that’s where we are.
No doubt, debates are, well, facing debate. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s announcement that she’s forgoing future debates with GOP challenger Pat O’Brien, a former judge, was a one-two punch. In addition to pulling the plug on a televised showdown that would surely remind viewers of the criticism over her handling of the Jussie Smollett case, Foxx suggested O’Brien would offer a performance similar to that of Trump’s on the debate stage Tuesday night.
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Republicans and Democrats turned up the heat on powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan this morning.
With the Commonwealth Edison public corruption scandal swirling around Madigan, four-term Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego announced this morning she will challenge the Southwest Side Democrat to lead the chamber when the new General Assembly is seated in January.
The House speaker, chosen on the basis of majority party in the chamber, plays an outsize role in what legislation lives and dies, and where tax dollars are directed. While he’s hoping to expand that majority in the November election, Kifowit’s move could complicate that.
Meantime, a few Republican lawmakers announced this morning that they’re pressing ahead with a plan to subpoena Madigan to testify before a bipartisan legislative panel investigating his conduct in the alleged Commonwealth Edison bribery scheme.
It’s likely a futile attempt, but they invoked Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker as an ally of sorts. Yesterday, the governor told reporters he thought it might be a good idea for Madigan, who chairs the state Democratic party, to jump into the hot seat in the name of transparency.
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Newton Minow, the former Federal Communications Commission chairman famous for describing TV as a "vast wasteland" in 1961, poses inside his Chicago residence near Lake Shore Drive. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
The public is flooding the Commission on Presidential Debates with ideas about bringing some sense of order to the next round of Trump vs. Biden after Tuesday night’s chaotic faceoff in Cleveland, Chicago attorney Newton Minow, who sits on the commission, tells The Spin.
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The organization announced yesterday it would be enacting new procedures to try to ensure order, and Minow says giving the moderator a mute button to silence a candidate repeatedly interrupting, as Trump did to Biden, “is on the table," while pointing out that Chris Wallace, the “Fox News Sunday” anchor who’s now taking heat about how he moderated the debate, doesn’t like that idea. (Minow offered some of the same insights in an interview that aired last night on WTTW.)
Indeed, Wallace told the New York Times: “As a practical matter, even if the president’s microphone had been shut, he still could have continued to interrupt, and it might well have been picked up on Biden’s microphone, and it still would have disrupted the proceedings in the hall,” he said.
Minow has been involved with every presidential debate since Kennedy-Nixon, and helped launch the Commission on Presidential Debates in the 1980s. As they have in the past, the candidates agreed to the ground rules of Tuesday night’s debate, but clearly things went off the rails.
“I was disappointed — and that’s a soft way of putting it,” Minow said. “After more than 40 of these debates, this is the first time — first time — anything like this has happened ... to me it was outrageous.”
Debates 'useful — even the one Tuesday night’: Now in his mid-90s, Minow is the former Federal Communications Commission chairman who famously described television in 1961 as a “vast wasteland.” Considering what unfolded on televisions across the nation and even the globe Tuesday night, I asked him whether debates are useful given the tenor of politics right now.
“The point of these debates is to give the viewer an opportunity to get as much information about the candidates as possible, to see how they react on their feet, so I think they’re useful — even the one Tuesday night, which was a disaster,” Minow said.
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Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is interviewed following a debate at ABC 7 in downtown Chicago on Feb. 28, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Pointing to recent editorial interviews between the two, Foxx’s spokeswoman Alex Sims issued a statement stating: “We learned during the recent Ed board interviews, that the State’s Attorney participated in with Mr. O’Brien, that he will instead use the time for Trump-like name calling and fear mongering,” Sims wrote. “During this nationwide crisis, she will not sit across the stage from a Republican that exploits tragedy to win a campaign. We had plenty of that last night. Voters deserve better.”
O’Brien issued his own statement, saying: “This campaign is one of the most important and high-profile races in the state. It is my belief that voters deserve to know the substantial differences between the candidates. I am ready and eager to debate Ms. Foxx on the record. After last night’s chaotic presidential debate, the voters of Cook County want and deserve nothing less than a real debate on the issues.” My Tribune colleague Alice Yin has the details here.
Democratic state Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit during a joint Illinois House and Senate committee hearing in Chicago in 2018. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune’s Dan Petrella and Rick Pearson write: “Kifowit is one of a handful of House Democrats who have called for Madigan’s resignation since Commonwealth Edison admitted to federal prosecutors earlier this year that it engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme aimed at currying favor with the speaker."
Kifowit said she sees the controversy swirling around Madigan as “an opportunity to move into a new future, where residents can be proud again of our state, and have faith in their elected officials to do the right thing.” Madigan, who chairs the state Democratic Party, says he’s just focused on the election.
Petrella and Pearson add: “(Her) decision to challenge Madigan a month before the election puts vulnerable House Democrats and Democratic candidates, particularly in the suburbs, in an even more awkward position leading up to the election — whether to back Madigan, her or someone else."
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“It is a question many were hoping to wait out until after the election despite repeated attacks by Republicans on the issue. But her run provides new fuel to the issue.” Read the full story here.
Three Illinois House Republicans push to subpoena Madigan to testify before legislative investigative committee: The House speaker has begged off of a request to appear before the special House committee convened to examine his conduct amid the alleged ComEd alleged bribery scheme. Today, three GOP members held a news conference to announce they’ve drafted subpoenas that would compel the House speaker to testify. Those drafts have been sent to the special committee’s chair, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat. The Sun-Times' Rachel Hinton has the story here.
Embattled video gambling owner was in line for $2.5 million, taxpayer-funded windfall by flipping land. Now it’s off the table: Read the Tribune story here.
Chicago City Hall: Chicago aldermen to consider rolling back part of city’s elected official lobbying ban - The Tribune’s John Byrne has the details here.
Before the doors to early voting opened, first in line voter Lesley Jones, 52, waits with dozens of other early voters at 191 N. Clark St. in Chicago on Oct. 1, 2020. The line stretched nearly around the block. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
When the doors opened in downtown Chicago, the line snaked past North Dearborn Street and almost reached West Randolph Street. Voters, wrapped in coats as the first chill of fall crept in, brought foldable lawn chairs and books to pass the time until the doors opened. Alice Yin has the details here.
Across the region: Early voting started last week in DuPage, Lake, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties, and some voters reported facing hourslong wait times because of the large number of people who came out to cast their ballots in person, Yin notes in her piece. Election officials reported Wednesday that the state was approaching 2 million vote-by-mail applications.
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Politico sightings: “Two-time mayoral candidate and businessman Willie Wilson also strolled around the line before polls opened, bumping fists with people who recognized him,” Yin notes, adding: “He is running a third-party challenge against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, but not everyone seemed to be aware.”
Also former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was on the scene.
Other news: US appeals court blocks Trump from shutting down census early - But a firm deadline hasn’t been set. Read the story here.
Rahm at super site polling place. pic.twitter.com/OQ4o1inuNd — Mitch Dudek (@mitchdudek) October 1, 2020
Marine One lifts off from the South Lawn of the White House as President Donald Trump makes a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base and then on to campaign events in Minnesota on Sept. 30, 2020. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
The White House is floating a $1.6 trillion aid package that includes a $400-per-week pandemic jobless benefit in a last-ditch, pre-election negotiation, the Associated Press is reporting.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the administration is still far short on aid to state and local governments. And she said she won’t agree to take half a loaf now.
The Democrats' plan calls for reviving a $600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and sending a second round of direct payments to most individuals. It would scale back an aid package to state and local governments to a still-huge $436 billion, send a whopping $225 billion to colleges and universities, and deliver another round of subsidies to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.
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It also contains $3.6 billion to assist voting during the pandemic, $15 billion for the Postal Service and additional billions for treatment and vaccines. Read the full Associated Press story here.
Also: Airlines would get another $25 billion in aid to prevent a wave of layoffs expected this week.
In Illinois, 2,166 new COVID-19 cases, 25 more deaths: Read the updates here.
Cook County Board commissioner tests positive for COVID-19: Alice Yin has the story here.
Chicago ‘Tamale Guy’ Claudio Velez discharged from hospital after monthlong stay for COVID-19: My terrific Tribune colleague Louisa Chu has the details here.
Chicago won’t cancel Halloween, but Mayor Lightfoot has some rules: The Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Alice Yin have the details here.
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Christkindlmarket cancels outdoor holiday markets in Chicago, Milwaukee; will begin selling online instead Nov. 1: My Tribune colleague Abdel Jimenez has the story here.
Illinois launches small business COVID safety program to help workers and customers returning to the office: The Tribune’s Robert Channick has the details 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