chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 10,573 new COVID-19 cases and 14 additional deaths reported as more

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: 10,573 new COVID-19 cases and 14 additional deaths reported as more regions — including DuPage, Kane counties — to face 10-person limit on gatherings

On Oct. 22 , Chicago police said in a prepared statement the department requires all of its officers to wear @ @ @ @ @ coverings in situations where they can ’ t maintain 6 feet of social distance , @ @ @ @ @ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
But the department ’ s COVID-19 online directive @ @ @ @ @ as a requirement for officers if they ’ re on duty for 14 days after @ @ @ @ @ with coronavirus .

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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)
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced three more regions of the state — including those covering DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties — will be ordered to limit gatherings to 10 people this week as the percentages of positive coronavirus tests in those areas continue to rise.
The suburban and northeast counties along with the state’s 20 southernmost counties, will come under the stricter rules, will also include a limit of six people per table for outdoor restaurant and bar service, beginning Wednesday. They join the northwest region, home to Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, in facing the next level of restrictions in Pritzker’s 11-region reopening plan.
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The governor’s announcement comes as state health officials Monday reported more than 10,000 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day, with 10,573. There also were 14 more deaths reported Monday, bringing the confirmed statewide death toll to 10,210. The seven-day statewide positivity rate increased to 11.4%. A day earlier, the rate was 10.6%.
The nation passed the sobering total of 10 million infections on Monday, and there have been more than 237,000 deaths from COVID-19.
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Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:35 p.m.: Pritzker raises possibility of another stay-at-home order as coronavirus surge continues unabated
With the coronavirus continuing to surge largely unabated, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that he would impose a 10-person limit on gatherings in parts of suburban Chicago and much of southern Illinois and suggested a statewide stay-at-home order is back on the table as a possible step to bring COVID-19 under control.
DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties, along with the state’s 20 southernmost counties, will come under the stricter rules, which also include a limit of six people per table for outdoor restaurant and bar service, beginning Wednesday. They join the northwest region, home to Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, in facing the next level of restrictions in Pritzker’s 11-region reopening plan.
The latest restrictions came on the fourth consecutive day that state health officials reported more than 10,000 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19. The virus is flaring in much of the country, but there was some good news as a major pharmaceutical company announced significant progress on a coronavirus vaccine.
Pritzker last week said he was considering renewed statewide restrictions to slow the spread of the virus, and on Monday he appeared to open the door to a new stay-at-home order. The stay-at-home order that went into effect March 21 and was lifted May 29 was Pritzker’s most drastic measure to date to combat the spread of the virus.
“We are looking at, really, all the possibilities: the possibility that we would have to go back a phase, the possibility that we would have to, ultimately, have a stay-at-home order,” Pritzker said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “Those are not things I’d prefer to do.”
It was a subtle shift for the governor, who as recently as Thursday had said a new stay-at-home order was “not something right now that we’re considering.”
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
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4:30 p.m.: CTU seeks mediation in CPS reopening talks, says most voters want remote learning to continue for now
As second quarter began Monday, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union had yet to agree on a plan for reopening schools, and the union has asked for an independent mediator to get involved as the coronavirus pandemic surges in Illinois.
While CPS leaders announced last month that they’d like to offer in-person learning this quarter to students in prekindergarten and special education clusters, eventually phasing in other grades, Mayor Lori Lightfoot last week said she wasn’t ready to “put a specific date on it.”
In a written request for mediation sent to CPS over the weekend, CTU lawyer Thad Goodchild asked CPS officials to confirm they will bargain over the decision to reopen and to ask a mediator to help with negotiations.
“We have a mutual obligation to deliver the best possible education to the children of the City of Chicago under the safest possible conditions,” Goodchild’s letter states. “It is the endeavor of the CTU to meet its obligation in that regard, and the CTU believes a mediator will help us to achieve what it hopes is a shared goal.”
Chicago Public Schools officials on Monday indicated they’re thinking about it.
“While the law does not require the district to bargain over the decision to reopen, the district has received the Union’s request, and we are reviewing it,” CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement. “We continue to meet and work with CTU, as we have all year, in the hopes they will become a productive partner in getting students safely back to in-person learning.”
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Read more here. —Hannah Leone
4:15 p.m.: CPD launches awareness campaign to make sure officers wear masks or face coverings
The Chicago Police Department has launched an awareness campaign for its roughly 13,000-strong force to make sure officers wear masks or face coverings to protect themselves and the public from COVID-19, officials said Monday
The “I Wear My Mask” campaign includes a video shown to department members that includes officers of different ranks, including police Superintendent David Brown, stressing the importance of wearing face coverings while working city streets during the pandemic.
The campaign comes as the department has faced criticism from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said last month CPD’s officers must do a better job covering their faces while in the field.
On Oct. 22, Chicago police said in a prepared statement the department requires all of its officers to wear surgical masks or other face coverings in situations where they can’t maintain 6 feet of social distance, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the department’s COVID-19 online directive only mentions wearing a mask as a requirement for officers if they’re on duty for 14 days after their last exposure to someone with coronavirus.
As part of the campaign officers will be further reminded with signs in police stations and through regular dispatch radio transmissions, according to a CPD statement. The department also said it had been sending “frequent internal messages” to officers about masks since the pandemic began.
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—Jeremy Gorner
3:30 p.m.: Schaumburg School District 54 halts in-person instruction as hundreds of students and teachers are quarantined and COVID-19 rates hit record levels
With hundreds of students and teachers in quarantine and COVID-19 rates at record levels, Schaumburg School District 54 has halted in-person instruction and returned to remote learning.
Superintendent Andy DuRoss told parents in an email last week that the district may return to a hybrid model — combining face-to-face instruction with online learning — as early as Nov. 30 if "local health conditions and our ability to staff classrooms improve.
“In order to achieve that goal, we need to work together to prevent the spread of this virus,” DuRoss said in Friday’s email.
In the meantime, all students will connect with their teachers and classmates by Zoom, with staff members teaching the remote lessons from their schools, DuRoss said.
The district, which enrolls around 15,500 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade, had reopened for in-person instruction in mid-October.
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Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
3:20 p.m.: After hundreds of Notre Dame students storm the field for football victory, school intensifies exit testing protocols ahead of Thanksgiving break
In the week leading up to the showdown with the top-ranked Clemson football team, University of Notre Dame leaders urged students to stay vigilant against COVID-19 when the players faced off Saturday just outside of South Bend, Indiana.
More than 7,000 undergraduate students were required to take COVID-19 tests to enter the stadium. Emails from administrators reminded fans to keep festivities outdoors and limit gatherings to 10 as cases crept up among students and in the surrounding county.
But that didn’t stop about 2,000 students from spontaneously rushing the field when the Fighting Irish beat Clemson University in an upset win in double overtime, an image broadcast to millions of at-home viewers and shared across social media. The footage showed students crammed together, and while most seemed to be wearing face masks, some mouths and noses were exposed.
A day after the victory, Notre Dame officials expressed “disappointment” about several large off-campus gatherings on Friday and Saturday nights. The messages outlined stricter testing protocols for students who intend to leave campus for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and winter break but did not address the students who stormed the field.
“It was very disappointing to see evidence of widespread disregard of our health protocols at many gatherings over the weekend,” wrote the university president, the Rev. John Jenkins, in a message to students.
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The critical words were directed at off-campus parties, some with groups of about 50 people, and not the short period of time when mostly masked students rushed the field, said university spokesman Paul Browne.
“Father John’s concern was the social gatherings, and not actually rushing the field,” Browne said. County health officials do not think the incident posed a high risk of transmission because of other precautions in place, he said.
About 11,000 people attended the game, the majority of whom were students, Browne said. The school capped attendance this season to 20% of the stadium’s 80,000 seats and curbed ticket sales. Students are given first priority for purchase.
Under the revised exit testing plans announced Sunday, all students intending to leave the South Bend area for Thanksgiving must take a COVID-19 test and cannot depart until the results are back, Jenkins' note says. Those who leave without testing will not be able to register for classes next semester, receive a transcript or return for spring classes.
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
2:45 p.m.: DuPage and Kane among counties in Chicago area and southern Illinois to face 10-person limit on gatherings as coronavirus surge continues unabated
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced three more regions of Illinois, including those covering DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties, will be ordered to limit gatherings to 10 people this week as the percentages of positive coronavirus tests in those areas continue to rise.
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The suburban and northeast counties along with the state’s 20 southernmost counties, will come under the stricter rules, will also include a limit of six people per table for outdoor restaurant and bar service, beginning Wednesday. They join the northwest region, home to Rockford, DeKalb and Galena, in facing the next level of restrictions in Pritzker’s 11-region reopening plan.
Positivity rates on coronavirus tests in the suburban and southern Illinois regions have continued to increase even after Pritzker ordered the shutdown of indoor dining and bar service and capped gatherings at 25 people in those areas roughly two weeks ago. Many establishments have flouted the governor’s orders, and local officials in some areas have refused to enforce them.
In DuPage and Kane counties, the seven-day average for the test positivity rate was 13.7% as of Friday, up from 9.5% when the tighter restrictions took effect Oct. 23. In Will and Kankakee counties, the positivity rate was 16.4%, up from 9.3% on Oct. 23. Southern Illinois was faring slightly better, with a positivity rate of 11.5% as of Friday, up from 8.7% when tighter restrictions went into effect Oct. 22.
In the nine counties in the northwest corner of the state, the positivity rate hit 17.6% on Friday, up from 13% on Oct. 25, when the region entered the next level of restrictions.
Statewide, the test positivity — the share of positive tests out of all tests take in a 24-hour period — was at a seven-day average of 12.4% as of Sunday, up from 8.2% when the state began reporting the figure on Oct. 29.
Under the governor’s plan, the next step for those regions under tighter restrictions would include suspending indoor and outdoor recreational activities and in-store shopping at nonessential retailers.
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Pritzker said last week that he was not considering a new statewide stay-at-home order like the one he issued in March, his most restrictive step to date, but he is looking at renewing some restrictions from earlier phases of the reopening plan on a statewide basis.
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
2:17 p.m.: 2 more judges, four other employees under Cook County chief judge test positive for COVID-19
Two judges, one at Cook County’s main criminal courthouse and the other at Juvenile Court, as well as four other employees of the chief judge, tested positive recently for the coronavirus, the chief judge’s office said in a news release Monday.
A total of 154 employees under the chief judge, including eight judges, have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the release. The most recent of the new cases was discovered late last week, according to Mary Wisniewski, a spokeswoman for the judge’s office.
One of the judges who tested positive most recent works at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, while the other works at the Cook County Juvenile Center, according to the release.
The employees were a juvenile probation officer, who was last at work in May, an adult probation officer who works in the Criminal Court Administration Building, a court reporter at the Skokie Courthouse, and a social service caseworker at Chicago Domestic Violence Court, 555 W. Harrison St.
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A total of 64 juvenile detention center employees and 49 juveniles detained there have tested positive, Wisniewski said. Another 21 employees at Juvenile Court at the juvenile center, not including judges, have tested positive.
When someone tests positive, officials with the chief judge’s human resources department contact anyone “identified as having had close contact with infected persons at the workplace” who may have been exposed, according to the release. The area where the person works also is deep-cleaned.
—Liam Ford
2 p.m.: US hits 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases as Joe Biden implores Americans to wear masks
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday implored Americans to wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus, even as he cheered promising news about the development of an effective vaccine.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced strong results from a vaccine trial and said it was on track to file an emergency use application with regulators later this month. But Biden warned Americans against complacency, pleading with them to be aggressive in wearing masks and practicing social distance as cases of the virus surge.
The nation passed the sobering total of 10 million infections on Monday, and there have been more than 237,000 deaths from COVID-19.
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Read more more. —Associated Press
12:21 p.m.: Notre Dame mandates COVID-19 testing after football victory celebration where students rushed the field
The University of Notre Dame has implemented mandatory coronavirus testing for students and strict penalties for those who don’t comply after students rushed the school’s football field to celebrate a double-overtime upset over Clemson and held numerous weekend parties.
The mass of students, players and coaches crammed close together on the field in the minutes following the Fighting Irish’s 47-40 win Saturday night in South Bend over then-No. 1 Clemson. Many of the thousands who stormed the field were not wearing masks or had their masks pulled down.
Now, all Notre Dame students are required to undergo coronavirus testing before they leave South Bend for the extended winter break, Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins told students Sunday night. The email announcement didn’t specifically reference the storming of the field, but rather “many gatherings” over the weekend.
Read more here. —Casey Smith
12:08 p.m.: 10,573 new known COVID-19 cases and 14 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Monday announced 10,573 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 498,560 and the statewide death toll to 10,210 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 64,760 new tests in the last 24 hours.
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The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 11.4%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:43 a.m.: HUD Secretary Ben Carson tests positive for coronavirus as Trump election party draws scrutiny
It was supposed to be a scene of celebration.
Instead, the Trump campaign’s election night watch party in the White House East Room — with few masks and no social distancing — is being eyed as a potential coronavirus super-spreading event and yet another symbol of President Donald Trump’s cavalier attitude toward a virus that is ripping across the nation and infecting more than 100,000 people a day.
Ben Carson, the secretary for Housing and Urban Development, is the latest attendee to test positive, a department spokesman confirmed. The event has been under scrutiny since another attendee, the president’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, contracted the virus, which has now killed more than 237,000 people in the U.S. alone.
Read more more. —Associated Press
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10:44 a.m.: DePaul won’t have fans at home basketball games to start the 2020-21 season because of COVID-19 guidelines
DePaul will not permit fans to attend men’s or women’s basketball games at the start of the 2020-21 season, the university announced Monday.
The university cited “the ongoing pandemic surging locally in the state of Illinois and city of Chicago.”
If health and safety restrictions ease later in the season, DePaul will sell tickets on a single-game basis.
Read more here. —Shannon Ryan
10:43 a.m.: Chicago-area hospitals again restricting visitors amid latest COVID-19 surge
Some Chicago-area hospitals are again barring visitors, as the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois continues to climb.
Advocate Aurora Health, which has 12 hospitals in Illinois, last week said that it would no longer allow visitors at most of its hospitals — except in certain cases, such as childbirth, emergency department visits, pediatric appointments, patients with disabilities and end-of-life patients.
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“This is a proactive measure to keep our patients and team members safe and to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” spokeswoman Johnna Kelly said in an email.
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
9:50 a.m.: Pfizer says early data signals COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective; company on track for emergency use application
Pfizer said Monday that an early peek at the data on its coronavirus vaccine suggests the shots may be a robust 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, putting the company on track to apply later this month for emergency-use approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
The announcement, less than a week after a presidential election that was seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis, was a rare and major piece of encouraging news lately in the battle against the scourge that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide, including almost a quarter-million in the U.S. alone.
Pharmaceutical companies and various countries are in a global race to develop a vaccine against the virus.
Read more here. —Associated Press
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7:40 a.m. Biden names COVID-19 task force, including former Chicago public health official
Dr. Julie Morita, a staff member of Chicago’s health department for 20 years who was city health commissioner from 2015 to 2019, was among those named to presumptive president-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 task force Monday.
Also named to the task force was former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s older brother, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Biden on Monday named the members of the team of public health and science experts to develop a blueprint for fighting the coronavirus.
The group includes doctors and scientists who have served in previous administrations, many of them experts in public health, vaccines and infectious diseases.
Notable among the members is Rick Bright, a vaccine expert and former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. He had filed a whistleblower complaint alleging he was reassigned to a lesser job because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by President Donald Trump as a COVID-19 treatment.
Public health officials warn that the nation is entering the worst stretch yet for COVID-19 as winter sets in and the holiday season approaches, increasing the risk of rapid transmission as Americans travel, shop and celebrate with loved ones.
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Read more here. —Associated Press
6:55 a.m. Chicago’s Christmas tree to be delivered to Millennium Park
Chicago’s city Christmas tree was scheduled to arrive Monday morning at Millennium Park.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the city won’t be holding a tree-lighting ceremony. But the tree, donated by an 85-year-old retired Chicago teacher, will be decorated as usual. And the city will hold a number of online events related to the holidays and involving the tree.
The tree was scheduled to arrive in the park around 10 a.m. Monday.
—Chicago Tribune staff
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In case you missed it
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chicagotribune--2020-11-09--CTU seeks mediation in CPS reopening talks, says most voters want remote learning to continue for no

CTU seeks mediation in CPS reopening talks, says most voters want remote learning to continue for now

“ While the law does not require the district to bargain over the decision to reopen , the district has @ @ @ @ @ request , and we are reviewing it , '' CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in @ @ @ @ @ continue to meet and work with CTU , as we have all year , in @ @ @ @ @ a productive partner in getting students safely back to in-person learning .
”

As second quarter began Monday, Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union had yet to agree on a plan for reopening schools, and the union has asked for an independent mediator to get involved as the coronavirus pandemic surges in Illinois.
While CPS leaders announced last month that they’d like to offer in-person learning this quarter to students in prekindergarten and special education clusters, eventually phasing in other grades, Mayor Lori Lightfoot last week said she wasn’t ready to “put a specific date on it."
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In a written request for mediation sent to CPS over the weekend, CTU lawyer Thad Goodchild asked CPS officials to confirm they will bargain over the decision to reopen and to ask a mediator to help with negotiations.
“We have a mutual obligation to deliver the best possible education to the children of the City of Chicago under the safest possible conditions," Goodchild’s letter states. "It is the endeavor of the CTU to meet its obligation in that regard, and the CTU believes a mediator will help us to achieve what it hopes is a shared goal.”
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Chicago Public Schools officials on Monday indicated they’re thinking about it.
“While the law does not require the district to bargain over the decision to reopen, the district has received the Union’s request, and we are reviewing it," CPS spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement. "We continue to meet and work with CTU, as we have all year, in the hopes they will become a productive partner in getting students safely back to in-person learning.”
Enlisting a third-party fact-finder during last summer’s contract dispute helped resolve some bargaining issues, such as pay, but did not avert what became an 11-day teachers strike.
Since schools statewide closed March 17, CPS has met with the union regularly, but CTU contends that doesn’t mean they’ve been bargaining.
“We have reached agreements on virtually nothing,” Goodchild wrote.
When CPS announced on Oct. 16 that it planned to offer in-person learning to about 17,000 pre-K and cluster students before the calendar year is over, bringing back close to 5,000 teachers, officials had not yet notified the union, according to the letter.
Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey in 2019. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
CPS officials often present the union with “fully baked proposals” that they introduce to the public minutes later, said CTU president Jesse Sharkey during a press call Monday. He and other union leaders called on CPS to work with them to improve remote learning until schools can reopen, but said the union wants a safe reopening.
“We are interested in getting into details with CPS about what that means and how that works,” Sharkey said.
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Should CPS agree to mediation, the union representing CPS support staff would likely join the process.
“Neither CPS nor the union can do it alone,” said Service Employees International Union Local 73 President Dian Palmer. "We need inclusiveness, we need everyone working together. That’s the motto of today’s crisis, we are all in this together, but it doesn’t feel that way.”
The district has not released the results of intent-to-return surveys sent to eligible families, which were due two nearly weeks ago.
The teachers union commissioned its own survey through Lake Research Partners, which said it reached 500 likely Chicago voters by phone and online between Oct. 24 and 26. Of those surveyed, 72% agreed with the statement, “Chicago schools should not be re-opened until the spread of the virus is controlled, and in the meantime should focus on remote learning, testing, contact tracing and ventilation,” according to a memo provided by the union.
Support for the remote learning statement was highest among African American voters, with 84% agreeing, compared with 62% of Latino voters, 67% of white voters, and 79% of voters who have children in CPS, according to the memo. The survey had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
Read separate statements summarizing CPS’ reopening plan and the union’s opposition, 61% of respondents favored remote learning and 35% favored reopening under the district’s guidelines, according to the memo.
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hleone@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Man charged with supplying Kyle Rittenhouse assault-style rifle used in deadly Wisconsin protest

Police first met Black at the Rittenhouse family ’ s apartment in Antioch , where he told them he had @ @ @ @ @ in the trunk of his car and that he ’ d given Rittenhouse the weapon @ @ @ @ @ as well as another rifle Black carried during the protest from the car .

KENOSHA, Wis. — Prosecutors have charged a Wisconsin man with supplying the gun an Illinois teen used to kill two people during a protest over police brutality in August.
Online court records show prosecutors in Kenosha charged 19-year-old Dominick Black on Nov. 3 with two felony counts of supplying a dangerous weapon to a minor causing death. Black could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
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Black made his initial court appearance Monday. Court Commissioner Loren Keating set his bail at $2,500 cash and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 19. Black’s attorney, Robert Keller, didn’t immediately return a message left at his office after the court appearance.
The Kenosha News reported that a criminal complaint alleges Black asked his friend, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, to help him guard businesses in Kenosha from protesters the night of Aug. 25. Demonstrators converged on the city for several nights after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, in the back seven times during a domestic dispute. The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down.
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Black and Rittenhouse went to Black’s stepfather’s house to get an assault-style rifle that Rittenhouse could use that night, the complaint said. Wisconsin law prohibits minors from carrying or possessing firearms unless they’re hunting.
The complaint alleges that Rittenhouse used the rifle to fatally shoot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wound a third man, Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse has been charged with multiple counts, including intentional homicide and illegally possessing a gun. His attorneys contend he was acting in self-defense. The case has been a rallying point for conservatives upset with property destruction during protests across the country this year.
Police first met Black at the Rittenhouse family’s apartment in Antioch, where he told them he had the rifle that Rittenhouse used in the trunk of his car and that he’d given Rittenhouse the weapon. Police recovered the rifle as well as another rifle Black carried during the protest from the car.
Kyle Rittenhouse appears for an extradition hearing in Lake County court Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Waukegan, Ill. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)
According to Antioch police reports, Black’s stepfather said Black bought the gun for Rittenhouse in Ladysmith, Wisconsin, using Rittenhouse’s money but put the gun in his own name.
Black told police that when they went to his stepfather’s house he was concerned about Rittenhouse having the gun because he wasn’t 18, but if he told Rittenhouse he couldn’t have it Rittenhouse “would have thrown a fit,” the reports said.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Algonquin woman who fled to Colorado faces charges in double homicide believed to be domestic violen

Algonquin woman who fled to Colorado faces charges in double homicide believed to be domestic violence

Arin Fox , 39 , is accused of killing Leonard Gilard Jr. , 73 , and Noreen Gilard , 69 @ @ @ @ @ of Red Coach Lane in Algonquin , then fleeing to Colorado , according to a @ @ @ @ @ Department .
She was being held in the Douglas County Jail in Castle Rock , @ @ @ @ @ , police said .

An Algonquin woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of two people who were found dead in a home in the northwest suburb Sunday evening, police said.
Arin Fox, 39, is accused of killing a 73-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman in the 600 block of Red Coach Lane in Algonquin, then fleeing to Colorado, according to a release from the Algonquin Police Department.
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The McHenry County coroner’s office has identified the victims as Leonard Gilard Jr., 73, and Noreen Gilard, 69, according to the police news release. The coroner’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday morning.
Arin Fox, 39, is accused of killing Leonard Gilard Jr., 73, and Noreen Gilard, 69, in the 600 block of Red Coach Lane in Algonquin, then fleeing to Colorado, according to a release from the Algonquin Police Department. She was being held in the Douglas County Jail in Castle Rock, Colorado, after fleeing there, police said. (Algonquin police)
Both were residents of Algonquin, according to police. Public records indicate they lived at the home where they were found dead.
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The Gilards were found when police responded to a check for well-being call about 6:40 p.m. Sunday. Police have not yet disclosed how the two died but said they were found with “apparent fatal wounds.”
Police said the incident is believed to be a case of domestic violence.
After the killings, Fox fled to Colorado and is being detained at the Douglas County Jail in Castle Rock, Colorado, awaiting extradition. Authorities did not release information on her home address, other than to say she was from Algonquin.
Deputies from the Douglas County sheriff’s office arrested Fox and she remained in the county’s custody Monday afternoon, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. Jail records show Fox had been scheduled to appear in court Monday morning for a hearing, but no further information was available through the Douglas County Jail website or court docket information.
Fox has also been charged with two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, one count of aggravated battery and one count of domestic battery.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Chicago breaks warm-weather records for November on Monday, as ‘heat wave’ set to last through Tuesd

Chicago breaks warm-weather records for November on Monday, as ‘heat wave’ set to last through Tuesday

In 1953 there had been five consecutive November days with a temperature higher than 70 degrees , and by notching @ @ @ @ @ record was toppled .
There also had been a long-standing late-season record of six consecutive @ @ @ @ @ higher , from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 , 1950 .
Since this six-day stretch @ @ @ @ @ , that record also was felled .

People on Belmont and Sheffield Ave. try to shield themselves from the rain as a cold front moves into Chicago on Nov. 10, 2020. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
When the temperature at O’Hare International Airport hit 70 degrees Monday morning, it was official: It’s never been this warm for this long so late in November in Chicago, and that’s only one of the warm-weather records broken this week during an unprecedented late-season heat wave.
When the city surpassed 70 degrees about 9:20 a.m., it broke two records at once.
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In 1953 there had been five consecutive November days with a temperature higher than 70 degrees, and by notching six this year, that record was toppled. There also had been a long-standing late-season record of six consecutive days of 70 degrees or higher, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, 1950. Since this six-day stretch comes later in the season, that record also was felled.
“There has never been a stretch like this that has even gone into November,” said Todd Kluber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
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“That puts us at six straight. When all is said and done, we are forecast to stretch this to seven straight days with temps higher than 70,” Kluber said.
The high temperature Monday afternoon reached 76 degrees, surpassing the record of 74 degrees set in 1999, meteorologist Lee Carlaw said.
There’s another, similar record in the city’s sights, should Tuesday’s temperature be higher than 70, as is forecast. It would best a weeklong stretch of 70-degree days of Oct. 24-30, set in 1989.
“That hasn’t happened this late in the season since we started keeping records in 1871,” Kluber said.
Historical weather data shows the 1989 stretch actually lasted eight straight days, but if this year’s stretch does last seven days, the weeklong feat still would mark the longest, latest string of above-70-degree days.
We've hit 70 degrees at O'Hare. This is the 6th consecutive day in the 70s which is now the longest consecutive stretch of 70s in the month of November! #ILwx — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) November 9, 2020
In a typical November, the city averages just one 70-plus-degree day for the entire month. Just twice since 1871 have there been six 70-plus-degree November days, in 1953 and 1975. There have never been seven November days with temperatures higher than 70 in a single year.
Two daily high-temperature records already had been broken during the heat wave. Sunday, “we broke a record for November the 8th — the original record was 73 and we hit 76,” Kluber said. That was the highest November temperature since the city reached 79 degrees Nov. 5, 1978. Sunday’s 76 degrees also ranks as the eighth-highest November temperature since record keeping began, Kluber said.
Additionally, Wednesday’s high temperature of 74 degrees tied a record for Nov. 4, he said.
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The records likely won’t end there. Carlaw said the record high temperature for Nov. 10, set in 1949, is 71 degrees, and the forecast high for Tuesday is 74.
On top of a record daily high temperature, if it is higher than 70 degrees Tuesday, the city also will have a new latest-in-the-year seven-day stretch for its history books. But the unseasonably warm weather will come to an end soon.
“It will not go past seven, though,” Kluber said.
Late Tuesday, a cold front will blast into the area, radically dropping the temperature.
“A strong cold front is going to come through (Tuesday), early in the evening, and it looks like temps will plummet pretty quickly,” Kluber said. “When I say plummet, I mean the low overnight could drop to 36 degrees.”
The system producing the cold air was over Nebraska early Monday and had pushed temperatures along its path from the 60s to the 30s, he said.
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“It’s quite a potent cold front that will surge through our area,” Kluber said.
“But, as anyone who’s lived here long enough knows, if you’re warm this time of year, expect it to turn cold — quickly.”
kdouglas@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @312BreakingNews


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Schaumburg School District 54 halts in-person instruction as hundreds of students and teachers are q

Schaumburg School District 54 halts in-person instruction as hundreds of students and teachers are quarantined and COVID-19 rates hit record levels

“ We were thrilled to be able to welcome back some of our students this fall , while also connecting @ @ @ @ @ learners , ” DuRoss said in the email .
“ At the same time , @ @ @ @ @ prepared should we need to move into an adaptive pause , where all students return @ @ @ @ @

With hundreds of students and teachers in quarantine and COVID-19 rates at record levels, Schaumburg School District 54 has halted in-person instruction and returned to remote learning.
Superintendent Andy DuRoss told parents in an email last week that the district may return to a hybrid model — combining face-to-face instruction with online learning — as early as Nov. 30 if “local health conditions and our ability to staff classrooms improve.”
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“In order to achieve that goal, we need to work together to prevent the spread of this virus,” DuRoss said in Friday’s email.
In the meantime, all students will connect with their teachers and classmates by Zoom, with staff members teaching the remote lessons from their schools, DuRoss said.
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The district, which enrolls around 15,500 students in prekindergarten through eighth grade, had reopened for in-person instruction in mid-October.
“We were thrilled to be able to welcome back some of our students this fall, while also connecting and engaging with our remote learners,” DuRoss said in the email. “At the same time, we asked families to be prepared should we need to move into an adaptive pause, where all students return to remote learning.”
The action was taken as four of five key public health metrics anchoring the district’s instructional plan moved to the “substantial community transmission category,” including new cases per 100,000 people, the positivity rate, total number of new cases and an increase in cases among the young, DuRoss said.
Junior Rodriguez, a custodian for Schaumburg School District 54, pulls a trash bin that holds bottles of disinfectant spray at Frost Junior High School on March 3, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
At least 781 students enrolled in the hybrid plan, and 158 staff members in the district were reported to be in quarantine. Particularly hit were six of the district’s 28 schools: Frost, Aldrin, Link, Mead, Hanover and the Early Learning Center.
In the past two weeks, 26 students and 25 staff members have tested positive for COVID, DuRoss said. “The large numbers of staff on quarantine and the reluctance of subs to take jobs in the pandemic has created a great staffing challenge for us,” he said.
In neighboring Palatine-based Community Consolidated School District 15, Superintendent Laurie Heinz said in an email to parents last week that the district was taking an “adaptive pause” at Gray M. Sanborn Elementary School and closing the building until Nov. 16.
Heinz said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution after a COVID-19 outbreak in a central location within the building.” As defined by the Illinois Department of Public Health, an outbreak is two or more cases connected by time and place.
School officials have been urging families to remain vigilant about strictly following COVID-19 safety precautions, like wearing masks and social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.
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In particular, officials pointed to a Halloween event at a local country club during the weekend of Oct. 23, which was reportedly attended by more than 100 people, some of whom have children attending District 15 schools.
After several guests at the gathering tested positive for COVID-19, officials asked that those in attendance keep their students home until Monday, which was 14 days past the date of the event.
“Despite our efforts, we know that some circumstances are out of our control, namely what families engage in outside of school,” officials said.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Woman said she bypassed O’Hare checkpoints and boarded plane without a ticket to see Jay-Z in Los An

Woman said she bypassed O’Hare checkpoints and boarded plane without a ticket to see Jay-Z in Los Angeles, according to prosecutors

Someone spotted Yaazmina Payton ducking under a set of ropes at the boarding door near the ticket gate at Terminal @ @ @ @ @ and alerted a ticket agent , prosecutors said during a bail hearing broadcast on YouTube @

A Marquette Park woman told authorities she evaded security checkpoints at O’Hare International Airport and boarded an American Airlines flight for Los Angeles so she could see rapper and music mogul Jay-Z, Cook County prosecutors told a judge on Monday.
Someone spotted Yaazmina Payton ducking under a set of ropes at the boarding door near the ticket gate at Terminal 3 around 7:45 a.m. Sunday and alerted a ticket agent, prosecutors said during a bail hearing broadcast on YouTube.
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Payton, 23, was taken into custody after being unable to produce a ticket or boarding pass and was later charged with felony criminal trespass.
Following her arrest, authorities said Payton offered to show them how she bypassed security, freely admitting she pushed past a gate into a secure area by evading detection while Transportation Security Administration officers were distracted.
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Payton also admitted passing another security checkpoint and said she was trying to go to LA to see the Grammy Award-winning rapper, Assistant State’s Attorney Jocelyn Schieve told the court.
Payton’s court-appointed attorney said she had post-traumatic stress disorder and an anxiety disorder.
Judge John F. Lyke Jr. ordered Payton released on $500 bail but approved a prosecution order barring her from the airport.
In a statement, a TSA spokesman said the agency was conducting an investigation that could take up to 90 days to complete.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Imperial Lamian in Chicago closes, citing coronavirus pandemic economic challenges

Imperial Lamian , which opened in the spring of 2016 , was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as having the @ @ @ @ @ for short ) in the city , praising the soup dumplings for their beautiful colors @ @ @ @ @ The restaurant was also known for its dim sum , hand-pulled noodles and takeaway window @ @ @ @ @ of people expressed how much they would miss the restaurant in the comments section of @ @ @ @ @

After more than four and a half years of serving rainbow-colored soup dumplings, roast duck and vegan spring rolls, Imperial Lamian has closed its doors in River North.
The pandemic hasn’t been kind to the Chinese restaurant, its corner unit beautifully decorated with bird cages and murals that evoke an old Shanghai feel. On its social media pages, Imperial Lamian cited pandemic-related challenges as its reason for closing, and thanked both customers and staff for its run.
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[ Chicago restaurants that have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic toll. ]
“We are grateful for the love and support from you and wish you a safe and healthy end of the year and the dawn of a new year,” the post says. “Our service industry has been hit hard and your favorite restaurants will only survive with your continued support. Thank you for the memories. We will cherish them forever.”
Imperial Lamian, which opened in the spring of 2016, was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as having the best xiaolongbao (or XLB for short) in the city, praising the soup dumplings for their beautiful colors and explosive soup interior. The restaurant was also known for its dim sum, hand-pulled noodles and takeaway window in the summer. Dozens of people expressed how much they would miss the restaurant in the comments section of the social media posts.
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Imperial Lamian’s sister restaurant Phat Phat in Schaumburg will remain open.
gwong@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Chicago-area hospitals again restricting visitors amid latest COVID-19 surge

She said the restrictions are similar to what Amita put in place in the spring , during the first surge @ @ @ @ @ meant to keep patients and hospital workers as healthy as possible , especially given that @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know they have it , she said .

Many Chicago-area hospitals are again barring visitors, as the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois continues to climb.
Last week, Advocate Aurora Health, which has 12 hospitals in Illinois, stopped allowing visitors at most of its hospitals — except in certain cases, such as childbirth, emergency department visits, pediatric appointments, patients with disabilities and end-of-life patients.
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“This is a proactive measure to keep our patients and team members safe and to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” spokeswoman Johnna Kelly said in an email.
Many Amita Health hospitals have started banning visitors in recent weeks, with exceptions such as for obstetrics, end-of-life patients and those with certain cognitive or behavioral needs, said Mary Ann Palermo, vice president of quality and patient safety for Amita, which has 19 hospitals in Illinois.
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She said the restrictions are similar to what Amita put in place in the spring, during the first surge. The latest rules are meant to keep patients and hospital workers as healthy as possible, especially given that many people with COVID-19 don’t know they have it, she said.
“It’s just really, really challenging, and we recognize the stress that this puts on patients and families when they can’t be together at such a stressful time in their lives,” Palermo said, noting Amita is using technology to try to keep patients and families connected.
Rush University Medical Center and Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox began in recent weeks prohibiting visitors for most hospital patients, with exceptions. Edward-Elmhurst Health began allowing only one patient per visitor Oct. 30, with some exceptions.
The Chicago Fire Department is generally no longer allowing family members to ride in ambulances with patients to hospitals, said spokesman Larry Langford in an email.
Many hospitals relaxed their visitor policies over the summer as the number of COVID-19 cases in Illinois dipped. The tighter restrictions come amid a second wave of COVID-19 cases in Illinois that led Gov. J.B. Pritzker to prohibit indoor dining in many places and has prompted some schools to return to full remote learning.
Hospitals are closely watching the surge, in hopes of ensuring they have enough capacity to take growing numbers of COVID-19 patients.
Some hospitals have nearly as many COVID-19 patients now as they did in the spring, including Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.
Edward-Elmhurst Health, which has hospitals in Elmhurst and Naperville, has more COVID-19 patients than it did in the spring. The two hospitals had a combined 136 COVID-19 patients Monday, compared with a high of 124 on April 15.
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chicagotribune--2020-11-09--High-ranking Mexican cartel member brought to Chicago to face drug conspiracy charges

Geronimo Gamez-Garcia , also known as “ Geremias , ” was charged in a four-count indictment in 2016 that was @ @ @ @ @ had been in custody in Mexico since 2017 and was flown last week to Chicago @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Magistrate Judge Sunil Harjani on Thursday , court records show .

A former lieutenant in Mexico’s notorious Beltran-Leyva cartel has been extradited to Chicago to face narcotics conspiracy charges alleging he helped manufacture and import massive amounts of cocaine into the United States.
Geronimo Gamez-Garcia, also known as “Geremias,” was charged in a four-count indictment in 2016 that was made public Monday. He had been in custody in Mexico since 2017 and was flown last week to Chicago, where he appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sunil Harjani on Thursday, court records show.
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In 2009, seized weapons from alleged members of the Beltran-Leyva drug cartel are taken away by federal agents after a news conference in Mexico City. (Alexandre Meneghini / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation seeking $20 million from Gamez-Garcia if he’s convicted.
Gamez-Garcia is a cousin of former cartel kingpin Arturo Beltran-Leyva and had acted as the organization’s logistics chief after a violent split with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel, according to court records and multiple accounts in Mexican media.
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He’s likely the highest-ranking cartel member to face charges in Chicago since Guzman’s right-hand man, Vicente Zambada-Niebla, was extradited in 2009 and agreed to cooperate against his boss.
News reports in Mexico stated Gamez-Garcia was originally arrested in 2009. During an attempt that year to transfer him to a federal facility in the Mexican state of Nayarit, cartel gunmen ambushed federal authorities as they were leaving the airport, killing six federal police officers and two prison guards in a failed attempt to free Gamez-Garcia, media reports stated.
Gamez-Garcia was released in 2015. The Chicago indictment alleged that from 2015 to 2017, he conspired with two others — identified only as Individual A and Individual B — to manufacture and import large quantities of cocaine into the United States from Mexico.
Gamez-Garcia was arrested on the Chicago charges in the Mexican state of Morelos in November 2017, and his legal effort to prevent his extradition was denied earlier this year.
The indictment marked the latest case brought by the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago against Mexico’s most notorious and violent cartels, which for years have used the city as a distribution hub for hundreds of tons of narcotics delivered across the United States.
Among those charged in Chicago was Beltran-Leyva, who was killed in a firefight with Mexican authorities in 2009 before he could be brought here to face sweeping narcotics trafficking charges.
Guzman was also indicted in Chicago but ultimately faced trial in New York, where he was sentenced to life in prison last year.
In 2018, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced former Mexican police Cmdr. Ivan Reyes Arzate to three years and four months behind bars for leaking sensitive information to the Beltran-Leyva cartel about U.S.-led drug investigations.
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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--After hundreds of Notre Dame students storm the field for football victory, school intensifies exit

After hundreds of Notre Dame students storm the field for football victory, school intensifies exit testing protocols ahead of Thanksgiving break

“ Because we are seeing increased cases among first year students , we ask those of you teaching our first @ @ @ @ @ them about the importance of adhering to the protocols , ” the message says .
@ @ @ @ @ for us to teach and our students to learn about the responsibilities that accompany being @ @ @ @ @ ”

In the week leading up to the showdown with the top-ranked Clemson football team, University of Notre Dame leaders urged students to stay vigilant against COVID-19 when the players faced off Saturday just outside of South Bend, Indiana.
More than 7,000 undergraduate students were required to take COVID-19 tests to enter the stadium. Emails from administrators reminded fans to keep festivities outdoors and limit gatherings to 10 as cases crept up among students and in the surrounding county.
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But that didn’t stop about 2,000 students from spontaneously rushing the field when the Fighting Irish beat Clemson University in an upset win in double overtime, an image broadcast to millions of at-home viewers and shared across social media. The footage showed students crammed together, and while most seemed to be wearing face masks, some mouths and noses were exposed.
Fans storm the field after Notre Dame defeated the Clemson double overtime on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in South Bend, Indiana. (Matt Cashore/USA Today)
A day after the victory, Notre Dame officials expressed “disappointment” about several large off-campus gatherings on Friday and Saturday nights. The messages outlined stricter testing protocols for students who intend to leave campus for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and winter break but did not address the students who stormed the field.
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“It was very disappointing to see evidence of widespread disregard of our health protocols at many gatherings over the weekend,” wrote the university president, the Rev. John Jenkins, in a message to students.
The critical words were directed at off-campus parties, some with groups of about 50 people, and not the short period of time when mostly masked students rushed the field, said university spokesman Paul Browne.
“Father John’s concern was the social gatherings, and not actually rushing the field,” Browne said. County health officials do not think the incident posed a high risk of transmission because of other precautions in place, he said.
About 11,000 people attended the game, the majority of whom were students, Browne said. The school capped attendance this season to 20% of the stadium’s 80,000 seats and curbed ticket sales. Students are given first priority for purchase.
Under the revised exit testing plans announced Sunday, all students intending to leave the South Bend area for Thanksgiving must take a COVID-19 test and cannot depart until the results are back, Jenkins' note says. Those who leave without testing will not be able to register for classes next semester, receive a transcript or return for spring classes.
While the private Roman Catholic university had already announced some exit testing protocols, administrators made the policy stricter due to student conduct over the weekend, threatening to place a registration hold on students who don’t test. Jenkins also warned of “severe sanctions” for those holding large gatherings or flouting public health guidelines.
In an email to the faculty on Sunday, Notre Dame Provost Marie Lynn Miranda and Executive Vice President Shannon Cullinan said the school sought to test all undergraduate students before Saturday’s game, excluding those who’d had COVID-19 in the past 90 days, athletes who are subject to frequent testing and students working remotely. About 98% of 7,173 students identified were tested before the game, the email said. Those who didn’t test had their tickets deactivated.
The officials also acknowledged a rise in campus cases over the last week. About 114 of 186 new cases were identified through surveillance testing of asymptomatic individuals, the email said. Cases could be up because of greater rates in St. Joseph County, leading to increased community transmission, relaxing attitudes about the virus and more surveillance testing, the email said.
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“Because we are seeing increased cases among first year students, we ask those of you teaching our first years to talk frankly with them about the importance of adhering to the protocols,” the message says. “This is a moment for us to teach and our students to learn about the responsibilities that accompany being part of a community.”
As of Monday, Notre Dame had 221 active COVID-19 cases and a seven-day positivity rate of 5.2%, according to the school’s public dashboard.
Notre Dame’s in-person classes conclude this week, with finals following, and dorms close for Thanksgiving and winter break Nov. 21. The university was among one of the most aggressive in pushing to offer face-to-face instruction this fall but the endeavor hasn’t always been smooth.
Fireworks explode over Notre Dame Stadium before the football game between Notre Dame and Clemson, Nov. 7, 2020, in South Bend, Indiana. (Cashore-Pool/USA Today)
The school suspended in-person instruction for two weeks in August after a case surge driven by off-campus gatherings. Jenkins has also come under fire for his conduct, most notably for posing with students in a crowded group photo and for attending the White House ceremony in which Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jenkins became one of the event’s many attendees who later tested positive for COVID-19. He has recovered and apologized for not wearing a mask and shaking hands with others during the event.
Notre Dame has one more scheduled home game, against Syracuse University on Dec. 5. Browne said the school discourages rushing the field and that the athletics department is considering how to address it.
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echerney@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker provides COVID-19 update

Illinois Gov .
J.B. Pritzker will give an update on the state ’ s response to the coronavirus in a @ @ @ @ @ Get the latest updates on COVID-19 in Illinois here .

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chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Lake County hits record daily COVID-19 high at 634 new cases; Indiana hospitalizations near 2,200, n

Lake County hits record daily COVID-19 high at 634 new cases; Indiana hospitalizations near 2,200, new state high

The state agency also reported another 4,213 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday , bringing Indiana ’ s seven-day rolling @ @ @ @ @ cases to 4,212 .
That is up more than 214 % from a month ago @ @ @ @ @ new highs that the state has seen during the pandemic .

Lake County reported a record number of positive COVID-19 tests results Monday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The county, which has been second only to Marion County for COVID-19 cases and deaths in the pandemic, reported 634 new cases and one death Monday.
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It was Lake County’s highest total since statistics started being kept in March and the most since Nov. 4, when 516 cases were reported.
Lake County is reporting a total of 19,434 cases and 383 deaths, trailing Marion County, which on Monday topped 30,000 cases and 804 deaths.
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Indiana’s hospitals were treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients on Sunday since the state began releasing public reports on coronavirus hospitalizations last spring, early in the pandemic, state health officials said.
On the seventh straight day of record-setting coronavirus hospitalizations, Indiana hospitals were treating 2,174 patients with COVID-19, the State Department of Health said Monday in its daily statistics update.
The new hospitalization numbers marked an 84% jump in Indiana’s COVID-19 patients during the past month, the data show.
The state agency also reported another 4,213 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing Indiana’s seven-day rolling average for newly confirmed coronavirus cases to 4,212. That is up more than 214% from a month ago and has continued rising to new highs that the state has seen during the pandemic.
According to the state dashboard, Porter County added 192 new cases Sunday. One new death there has increased fatalities to 65.
The health department also added 34 more coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana’s pandemic toll, raising it to 4,644, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said Wednesday that hospitals and healthcare workers in Indiana are swamped, “needing support now more than ever.” Staffing issues continue to be the greatest challenge, Box said. State officials are now renewing their call for retired health care workers to help relieve staff in Indiana’s hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, who won a second term as governor last week by defeating Democrat Woody Myers said Wednesday he’s not making any changes to COVID-19 policy, including no statewide closure of schools.
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Crown Point Community Schools, which had been open for in-person learning, announced it was closing for online-learning only Wednesday due to the pandemic.
The Republican governor has continued to resist calls for reinstating coronavirus restrictions since lifting nearly all limits in late September, just as the state started recording sharp increases in hospitalizations, deaths and new infections.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Health information about thousands in long-term care facilities mistakenly released by Lake County H

Health information about thousands in long-term care facilities mistakenly released by Lake County Health Department

Lake County Health Department officials said in a statement that they are , “ committed to protecting personal information , @ @ @ @ @ procedures in place to protect your privacy .
We have taken prompt action to prevent @ @ @ @ @ future .
We deeply value the trust that our community places in us to provide @ @ @ @ @ ”

Lake County Health Department officials are notifying long-term care facilities that the health information of their staff and residents was shared with other long-term care facilities by mistake, and that there’s no evidence the private data has been misused.
According to a Health Department news release, the breach was discovered on Sept. 10 and affects 3,815 residents and staff of long-term care facilities in the county.
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The health information found to be exposed involved COVID-19 testing results that were sent by the health department to long-term care facilities that were part of a COVID-19 testing project designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The information exposed was sent via weekly encrypted emails in filtered spreadsheets from June 4 to Aug. 18, according to the news release.
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The weekly reports included names, dates of birth, addresses and COVID-19 testing results. They did not contain any Social Security numbers or financial information, officials said.
Although the data was hidden in the encrypted spreadsheets, users were able to access results from all the facilities participating in the project once the filter selection was changed, officials said.
Lake County Health Department officials said in a statement that they are, “committed to protecting personal information, and we have policies and procedures in place to protect your privacy. We have taken prompt action to prevent this from happening in the future. We deeply value the trust that our community places in us to provide quality care and services.”


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Column: Dear Trump supporters: I’m sorry Joe Biden won. It’s definitely my fault that you hate me.

So please , to the people who , in the wake of Trump ’ s 2016 victory , told me @ @ @ @ @ and offered a mug in which to place my “ Liberal Tears , ” I @ @ @ @ @ this difficult time .
Perhaps there ’ s a way I can modify my views @ @ @ @ @ your hatred of immigrants ?
It seems abandoning my disgust that the Trump administration orphaned @ @ @ @ @ the least I can do for people who believe I and other liberals are part @ @ @ @ @ pedophiles .

Black Lives Matter activists join crowds celebrating the election of Joe Biden over President Trump in the election for the presidency of the United States on Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, Nov. 7, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
If one thing’s clear in the wake of President-elect Joe Biden’s presumptive victory over President Donald Trump, it’s that liberals like me need to reach out to people who spent the past four years dehumanizing us and show empathy.
Immediately.
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I’m told this cannot wait and it’s wholly incumbent upon us, the liberals, to spend time trying to better understand the millions of Americans who voted for Trump and who reacted to every tweet we ever posted with a photo of Trump and the words, “CRY HARDER LIB!!”
I feel bad that I have yet to begin my search for common ground with the people who chanted breathlessly for jailing Trump’s political opponents, but I guess I was waiting for them to first accept the results of the presidential election. That was rude of me to think acknowledging reality should be a prerequisite for me to feel deeply concerned about the emotions of people who think Democrats rigged an election but forgot to rig it well enough to win back the U.S. Senate.
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I apologize, and I hope that with time, the people who still believe former President Barack Obama is a Muslim will forgive me and let me into their lives so I can gain knowledge and understanding.
After all, I can count on no hands the zero times over the past four years Trump supporters reached out to me in an attempt to bridge the political divide between us. And thank goodness for that, as it might have torn them away from tweeting “HAH! TRIGGERED!” at liberals who were feeling truly hurt by or worried about the actions of the Trump administration.
What’s important now is that I, a liberal, reach out to the person who emailed the day after the election to call me “a worthless pile of human garbage.” I must recognize that that person is hurting. I must take the first step, and that person should certainly not need to engage in any self-reflection. It is my fault he called me human garbage. Hopefully time can heal that wound.
Some might argue it’s impossible to find common ground with people willing to believe there was massive voter fraud when the only evidence presented is conspiratorial word salad served by Trump’s bug-eyed attorney, Rudy Giuliani, outside a Philadelphia lawn care company next to a porn shop.
And some might cynically suggest it’s hard to take people seriously when they insist the media can’t call an election, since they raised no such objection when Trump won in 2016.
But I’m told it would be just like an evil liberal to think such things. Clearly I must do my part, surrender some of my firmly held beliefs and appeal to people who think I should leave the country because all my beliefs are un-American.
Supporters of President Donald Trump rally Nov. 7, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP)
So please, to the people who, in the wake of Trump’s 2016 victory, told me to “suck it” and offered a mug in which to place my “Liberal Tears,” I want to comfort you in this difficult time. Perhaps there’s a way I can modify my views on family separation to accommodate your hatred of immigrants? It seems abandoning my disgust that the Trump administration orphaned more than 500 children is the least I can do for people who believe I and other liberals are part of a network of satanic pedophiles.
Would it help if I hit myself in the face a few times? If that’s what it takes to find a middle ground in which I feel pain and you feel none, I will certainly start the face-whacking immediately. It’s only fair.
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Your feelings are extremely important to me, person wearing a pro-Trump T-shirt that says “(EXPLETIVE) Your Feelings.” It is up to me to understand you, and I will be happy to start on that as soon as you’re done composing an email that calls me “the enemy of the people” and shouting “FAKE NEWS!” while trying to intimidate my colleagues.
Take your time. I’ll wait. This is entirely my responsibility, and any suggestion that Biden winning by 5 million votes suggests otherwise is absurd.
I feel bad that I caused you to hate me. Totally my fault. And I don’t want you to feel like you need to do a single thing to better understand me.
After the 2016 election, when Trump lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million but still won the Electoral College, we were told it was the duty of all liberals to better understand the forgotten men and women who supported Trump.
Now, four years later, the 75.5 million Americans who rejected Donald Trump must again step forward and work to better understand the majority 71 million Americans who embraced him.
Because that’s how math, and the rules of Republican fairness, works.
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rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer .

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 14 new deaths, 10,573 new confirmed and probable cases and 64,760

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 14 new deaths, 10,573 new confirmed and probable cases and 64,760 new test results

Illinois announced 10,573 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Monday for a total of 498,560 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 10,210 and 64,760 new test results for a total of 8.47 million @

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


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Judge in ex-Portage Mayor James Snyder’s bribery case recuses herself; trial was to start Dec. 7

Additionally , Snyder ’ s attorneys argued in the filing that the court should use its supervisory power to acquit @ @ @ @ @ deprived Mr. Snyder of eyewitnesses as to what happened between him and the Buhas ... @ @ @ @ @ had expected to place before the jury .
”

Former Portage Mayor James Snyder leaves federal court in Hammond with his wife, Deborah, minutes after he was convicted on public corruption charges. (Craig Lyons/Post-Tribune)
A third judge will be appointed to determine the outcome in the case against former Portage Mayor James Snyder.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Theresa Springmann recused herself from the case Friday. The case was reassigned to Springmann from Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen in December 2019, according to court records.
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On Nov. 2, Springmann set a jury trial date for Dec. 7 in Snyder’s retrial on a soliciting bribes charge, according to court records.
Springmann previously denied a motion to dismiss the bribery charge on double jeopardy grounds and supervisory power of the court.
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Snyder’s attorneys argued that the double jeopardy standard applies in this case because brothers Robert and Steve Buha, former owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt, were granted immunity with “no-notice, mid-trial” following a grand jury testimony that took “the Court completely by surprise,” according to Snyder. With their testimony, “there is a strong likelihood that Mr. Snyder would have been acquitted,” Snyder’s lawyers argue.
Additionally, Snyder’s attorneys argued in the filing that the court should use its supervisory power to acquit him because the prosecutors “deprived Mr. Snyder of eyewitnesses as to what happened between him and the Buhas ... much of the evidence he had expected to place before the jury.”
Springmann issued an order denying the motion to dismiss the charge on double jeopardy grounds because there is no proof of misconduct in how the prosecution handled the Buha brothers' testimony.
Springmann ruled that the prosecutors stated they do "not believe that (the Buha brothers) have been truthful,” which “fall short of the obviously threatening conduct that other courts have deemed to be witness intimidation,” according to court records.
Snyder, who was indicted in November 2016, was convicted of taking a $13,000 bribe in exchange for contracts to sell five garbage trucks to the city and using a shell company to hide income assets from the IRS while owing back personal and business taxes. The jury acquitted Snyder of a third count that alleged he took a $12,000 bribe to get a company on Portage’s tow list.
Snyder, 42, has agreed to forfeit $13,000 to the federal government, documents show.
Federal prosecutors said Snyder allegedly solicited money from co-defendant John Cortina, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage, and “Individual A” and gave them a towing contract for Portage.
Cortina, 81, in January 2019 pleaded guilty to a charge that he paid bribes to Snyder to get a spot on the tow list. Cortina did not testify during the trial.
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Cortina was sentenced Jan. 22 to time served and a $12,000 fine.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Illinois crosses $100 million threshold in weed sales as election victories pave way for more growth

Green Thumb operates eight adult-use cannabis stores in Illinois under the Rise banner , with licenses to open two more @ @ @ @ @ last month in Naperville .
Kovler said the company plans to open a downstate store @ @ @ @ @ in a yet-to-be-determined location in the Chicago area by the first quarter , with six @ @ @ @ @

There was no blue wave or red wave during Election Day, but the green wave rolled on as voters expanded recreational marijuana use to more locations just days after the industry’s most lucrative month yet in Illinois.
Recreational marijuana sales generated a record $75 million across the state during October, up nearly $8 million from the previous month.
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The marijuana business in Illinois crossed the $100 million threshold in total sales for the first time. In addition to recreational sales, medical marijuana sales topped $33 million during the month, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which licenses marijuana dispensaries in the state.
A customer pays for an order with cash on the first day of recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1, 2020 at Sunnyside Lakeview. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Four more states approved recreational marijuana use in Tuesday’s election, while six Chicago suburbs joined a growing list of Illinois municipalities allowing adult-use cannabis dispensaries.
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Add in a Joe Biden presidential victory and the improved prospects for federal legislative reform, and Chicago cannabis companies see the nascent industry headed to new heights.
“This was a green sweep,” said Ben Kovler, 42, founder and CEO of Chicago-based Green Thumb, a 6-year-old, multibillion-dollar cannabis manufacturer and retailer. “This is a massive new engine in the American economy.”
Legal marijuana went five-for-five on state ballots as Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota voted in favor of adult-use cannabis, while Mississippi approved medical marijuana. Weed is now legal in 35 states, include 15 that allow for recreational use.
In Illinois, Batavia, Elk Grove Village, Glen Ellyn, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge and Wilmette approved the sale of recreational marijuana. Western Springs voted it down.
For Kovler, the election shows that legal marijuana — which is still a controlled substance at the federal level — has won the hearts and minds of a majority of Americans.
“There is mass acceptance of the U.S. cannabis industry by the consumer and the voter,” Kovler said. “In this divided country, there are very few issues that have that kind of universal acceptance.”
Green Thumb has 13 manufacturing facilities, licenses for 96 retail locations and operations across 12 U.S. markets. During the second quarter, the company generated nearly $120 million in revenue, compared with $45 million a year earlier.
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Kovler said Green Thumb has a medical marijuana store in New Jersey and is positioned to sell recreational marijuana in that state when it opens for business. But Illinois is at the center of its growth plans.
When Illinois legalized recreational marijuana Jan. 1, it allowed each of the 55 medical dispensaries to add adult-use sales at their existing location and open a second adult-use location. A planned lottery to award 75 new recreational licenses is on hold after unsuccessful applicants alleged the process unfairly excluded minorities.
There are currently 70 recreational dispensaries open in Illinois. Ultimately, state law could allow for as many as 500 locations.
Green Thumb operates eight adult-use cannabis stores in Illinois under the Rise banner, with licenses to open two more. The most recent opened last month in Naperville. Kovler said the company plans to open a downstate store in Charleston, and one in a yet-to-be-determined location in the Chicago area by the first quarter, with six new suburbs to explore.
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Competitor Cresco Labs has maxed out its retail locations in Illinois, with nine Sunnyside dispensaries in operation and the 10th slated to open in Naperville early next year. Nevertheless, the multibillion-dollar Chicago-based marijuana manufacturer and distributor stands to benefit from the industry’s growth. It has a national retail footprint and 15 production facilities across nine states.
Workers behind plexiglass check out a customer at the Sunnyside dispensary in Schaumburg on Aug. 6, 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
“We’re big on being able to sell our branded products in as many stores as possible,” said Charlie Bachtell, 42, CEO and co-founder of Cresco. “I want more dispensaries to open in Illinois.”
In the 24 years since California approved the use of medical marijuana through Proposition 215, legal weed has picked up momentum as it has spread across the states, while remaining illegal at the federal level.
That dichotomy has forced the cannabis industry to navigate a patchwork of local regulations and federal banking laws that restrict access to capital and exile publicly traded U.S. companies to the Canadian Securities Exchange. Both Green Thumb and Cresco, for example, trade on the Canadian exchange.
The election of Biden could help push through banking reform, if not full legalization, to help normalize the cannabis industry and fuel its continued growth. The SAFE Banking Act, which addressed cannabis banking issues, was approved by the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
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“We don’t want to be an all cash industry,” Bachtell said. “A very important next step would be federal legislation that specifically says it is not money laundering to provide banking services to legal, state-licensed cannabis businesses.”
Eric Berlin, an attorney with the Chicago-based cannabis legal team at the law firm Dentons, said banking reform may still face challenges should Republicans maintain control of the Senate. Full legalization is going to take even more time, he said.
Federal decriminalization of marijuana, something Biden advocated for during the campaign, would be a more likely first step, Berlin said.
“That’s not going to get the big banks in, but it is going to get a lot more capital into the industry,” Berlin said. “More folks are going to feel comfortable contributing their money, whether it’s through equity or debt financing, with a promise from the federal government not to criminally enforce.”
Customers at The Herbal Care Center, on Chicago's West Side, keep their distance as they wait in line to place their orders on March 31, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A Pew Research survey published last year found that two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization, a figure that has doubled in the last decade. Weed sales are on a similar trajectory.
BDSA, a cannabis industry research firm, projects U.S. sales to top $16 billion this year, and more than double to $34 billion by 2025. Green Thumb’s Kovler is even more bullish, projecting an $80 billion U.S. cannabis market by 2030.
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“We think this is a $80 billion industry, which means we think U.S. cannabis is bigger than U.S. wine,” Kovler said.
U.S. wine sales topped $72 billion last year, according to the Wine Analytics Report. But wine sales are flattening, and some analysts believe the growth of recreational marijuana could begin to impact wine demand.
“As more states legalize recreational marijuana, the legal and economic relationship between alcohol and marijuana will become better understood — and with marketing and socialization, cannabis may become a larger issue for the wine industry,” according to a 2020 wine industry report by Silicon Valley Bank.
Katie Ashton, another cannabis attorney with Dentons, said ballot issues from deep red states to the Chicago suburbs prevailed last week for the same reason — a different kind of green.
“They see dispensaries opening, people aren’t running amok in the streets and there’s significant revenue,” Ashton said. “Now they want some of that too.”
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rchannick@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Jacob Blake, shot by police in Kenosha, reaches plea in earlier assault case

Officer Rusten Sheskey , who is white , shot him seven times in the back as he tried to get @ @ @ @ @ video from a neighbor shows .
Sheskey ’ s lawyer contends the officer believed Blake @ @ @ @ @ of his own children and Blake turned toward him with a knife .

Madison Taft and Black Lives Matter activists march through a Kenosha neighborhood Jan. 5, 2021, after news that no charges will be issued against the Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
A Black man paralyzed in a Wisconsin police shooting has reached a plea deal to settle a sexual assault case pending against him since the summer.
Online court records indicate prosecutors dropped a felony third-degree sexual assault charge and a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge against 29-year-old Jacob Blake.
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In exchange, Blake pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, and Judge Bruce Schroeder sentenced him to two years of probation.
Prosecutors in Kenosha accused Blake in July of breaking into a woman’s home and sexually assaulting her. Officers tried to arrest him in connection with that case on Aug. 23, but Blake resisted, according to police.
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Officer Rusten Sheskey, who is white, shot him seven times in the back as he tried to get into his SUV, cellphone video from a neighbor shows. Sheskey’s lawyer contends the officer believed Blake was trying to kidnap one of his own children and Blake turned toward him with a knife.
The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down and sparked several nights of protests in Kenosha that turned violent at times.
Prosecutors have charged Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, with fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during one of the demonstrations.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Woman shot on Eisenhower Expressway on Chicago’s West Side

The woman ’ s injury was not considered life-threatening , troopers said .
It wasn ’ t immediately clear at @ @ @ @ @ .
Officials said she was taken to the hospital by a third party instead of @ @ @ @ @ a spokeswoman for state police did not know if that was a relative or friend @ @ @ @ @ to help her .

Outbound traffic, left, on the Eisenhower Expressway near Kedzie Avenue in Chicago is back to normal Nov. 9, 2020. An early morning shooting investigation caused a massive morning traffic backup on the expressway. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A woman was shot while driving on the Eisenhower Expressway early Monday, according to Illinois State Police.
About 3:50 a.m., troopers were contacted by a woman who was being treated at an area hospital for a gunshot wound that she said she suffered while driving west alone on Interstate 290 near Homan Avenue in the Homan Square neighborhood on the West Side.
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Troopers were dispatched to the area, where they closed all lanes at 5:23 a.m. to investigate, according to a statement from state police. Westbound traffic was diverted at Homan Avenue. All lanes reopened at 7:48 a.m.
The woman’s injury was not considered life-threatening, troopers said. It wasn’t immediately clear at which hospital she was treated. Officials said she was taken to the hospital by a third party instead of in an ambulance, but a spokeswoman for state police did not know if that was a relative or friend or if a passerby stopped to help her.
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Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened Nov. 7-8 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Saturday was the second day Illinois reported both confirmed and probable cases , following what state officials said was Centers @ @ @ @ @ guidance on how to count cases .
On Friday , officials said there were 10,376 @ @ @ @ @ , in addition to 7,673 probable cases of COVID-19 from since the beginning of the @ @ @ @ @ the health department did not make clear how many of the cases were confirmed with @ @ @ @ @ probable cases .

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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)
Illinois COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising so quickly that, in roughly a week, the number could surpass the highest tally seen in the spring surge, a Tribune analysis has found. And the skyrocketing admissions are raising new concerns that some hospitals could eventually be packed with patients.
The analysis comes as Illinois continues experiencing surges in coronavirus cases and deaths. State health officials Sunday reported more than 10,000 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases. There also were 42 more deaths reported Sunday, bringing the confirmed statewide death toll to 10,196. The seven-day statewide positivity rate increased to 10.6%.
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Here’s what’s happening this weekend with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
Sunday
10,009 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 42 additional deaths reported
The daily count of newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Illinois again topped 10,000 on Sunday and another government official was self-isolating after a staff member tested positive for the disease.
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Illinois public health officials reported 10,009 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 42 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 487,987 and the statewide death toll to 10,196 since the start of the pandemic.
The state on Friday begin reporting probable cases as well as those confirmed by testing, but even before that the daily case count was setting record highs.
Also Sunday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office said she’s self-isolating after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Preckwinkle is not experiencing any symptoms and is being tested, her office said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and some staff members briefly went into isolation late last week after someone at a meeting they attended last Monday tested positive for COVID-19.
Both the governor and the staff members subsequently tested negative and were released from quarantine. Under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, that is allowed because they had met with the person who became infected 48 hours before the onset of symptoms and therefore weren’t considered “close contacts,” the governor’s office said.
Pritzker had twice previously gone into longer periods of isolation after coming in contact with an infected person.
State officials on Sunday also said 90,757 new tests had been conducted in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 10.6%.
Over 4,000 people are reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 833 patients were in the ICU and 368 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators, according to public health officials. — Jessica Villagomez
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Saturday
Day after disclosing Monday meeting that included person who tested positive for COVID-19, Pritzker and staff out of quarantine following negative tests
A day after saying Gov. J.B. Pritzker and staff who attended a Monday meeting with officials outside state government were having to quarantine because someone at the meeting later tested positive, the governor’s office said.
Pritzker and his staff have tested negative for the coronavirus.
The governor’s staff has routine testing weekly on Wednesdays, then had negative tests again Friday, according to a news release.
Pritzker went into isolation for the third time pending the results of tests taken after his afternoon briefing, his office said Friday.
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Because they met with the person who tested positive more than 48 hours before the person developed symptoms, Pritzker “and staff who attended the meeting, are not considered close contacts,” according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, according to the release. And because they aren’t considered close contacts with the person, the governor and staff won’t have to quarantine further, according to the release.
—Chicago Tribune staff
12,438 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 76 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Saturday announced 12,438 new new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 — a new record daily high — and 76 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 477,978 and the statewide death toll to 10,154 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials also reported 98,418 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 10.3%, a jump from Friday’s rate of 9.6%.
The record daily tally reflects the new way the state is counting new daily cases, including not only confirmed cases but also probable cases.
Saturday was the second day Illinois reported both confirmed and probable cases, following what state officials said was Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on how to count cases. On Friday, officials said there were 10,376 new cases confirmed through testing, in addition to 7,673 probable cases of COVID-19 from since the beginning of the pandemic. On Saturday, the health department did not make clear how many of the cases were confirmed with testing and how many were probable cases.
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A confirmed case is “laboratory confirmed” according to the IDPH, while a probable case meets “clinical criteria and is epidemiologically linked or has a positive antigen test.” An antigen test detects whether coronavirus antibodies are in a person’s blood, which would be a signal they had the virus.
If a person who counted as a probable case eventually tests positive for the virus with a molecular test that person won’t be counted in the state’s total cases twice.
Of the 76 deaths confirmed Saturday, 26 were in Cook County, with Whiteside County, which has a population of only about 58,000 people, second among the state’s counties, with five newly confirmed deaths.
—Chicago Tribune staff
As Chicagoans turn out after Biden projected as winner, health officials warn of large crowds
As news organizations projected that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would be the next president and Chicago-area residents took the streets to celebrate, health officials warned people to wear masks and avoid large crowds.
“REMINDER to avoid large crowds, but if you’re around others be sure to wear a face covering!!!” the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a tweet.
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REMINDER to avoid large crowds, but if you're around others be sure to wear a face covering!!! pic.twitter.com/1ZUbdZoPz2 — IDPH (@IDPH) November 7, 2020
— Chicago Tribune staff
Morgan County jail sees COVID-19 outbreak
Morgan County reported 29 additional infections and also grappled with an outbreak at the Morgan County Detention Facility, according to a daily briefing by the Morgan County Department of Public Health, Jacksonville/Morgan County Emergency Management, Memorial Health System, Morgan County commissioners and the city of Jacksonville.
Two staff members and six inmates at the jail have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the county health department. One more prisoner at Jacksonville Correctional Center also tested positive Thursday, increasing the number of people infected as part of an outbreak at the facility to 376 prisoners and 15 staff members.
—Jacksonville Journal-Courier


chicagotribune--2020-11-09--Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Tracking Chicago homicide victims

Though there are homicides recorded throughout the city they are most concentrated in the South and West sides .