chicagotribune--2020-05-13--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--2020-05-13--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 3,792 deaths, 84,698 confirmed cases, 489,359 tests, 24% ICU beds and

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 3,792 deaths, 84,698 confirmed cases, 489,359 tests, 24% ICU beds and 67% ventilators open

As the coronavirus spreads and local , state and national governments work to contain and mitigate the outbreak , the @ @ @ @ @ .

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--2020-05-13--Cook County Board to vote on waiving 1.5% interest fee on late property tax payments through Oct. 1

“ What I ’ m hearing from people is they ’ re very concerned , ” Suffredin said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ that they are feeding their families and other priorities other than their taxes .
… @ @ @ @ @ back to some form of normalcy , I think that all that fear does is @ @ @ @ @

Cook County officials plan to waive late penalties on property taxes due in the summer for two months, potentially easing the strain on homeowners and commercial property owners battered financially by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 1.5% interest rate on late property tax payments would normally be charged each month starting Aug. 3, when the second installment of 2019 bills is due. The proposal would halt the interest fees until Oct. 1, and any payments made by then would be considered on time.
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Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, commissioners and other county officials crafted the proposal after over a month of discussion and are expected to vote on it during their May 21 Board of Commissioners meeting. The county treasurer’s office expects about $7 billion in property taxes during this second round.
“These are incredibly difficult times for our residents and this measure creates much-needed breathing room for Cook County property owners,” Preckwinkle said in a Wednesday statement.
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Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said the fee waiver would be allowed under Preckwinkle’s disaster declaration surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Pappas said she and commissioners came to the idea of waiving late penalties after weighing the need for revenue for local governments with the financial strain inflicted on property owners.
“It’s sort of like in the middle of nowhere, the building caught fire,” Pappas said. “Therefore, the firetrucks are allowed to come in and douse everything with water.”
Pappas said she’s fielded calls from distressed property owners regarding the upcoming summer payments.
There was a man maintaining 70 shopping centers who called her at 6 a.m., saying none of his tenants could pay rent. A waiter who bought a home called about being out of work for three months. An executive at a ritzy hotel in downtown Chicago fretted about how business has dried up since the pandemic scared away tourism, Pappas said.
“The problem with the (Aug. 3) due date is that people don’t have the money,” Pappas said.
Neighboring counties already have enacted some sort of relief from property taxes.
In Lake County, for example, residents can sign up for a deferred payment plan. DuPage County has waived late fees on property tax payments from June 1 to Sept. 1 for property owners who prove pandemic-related financial hardship. Kane County extended its deadline from June 1 to July 1, provided that property owners demonstrate financial hardship from the pandemic. And, McHenry County suspended its late interest fees from starting until Sept. 15.
Cook County’s scramble to help out its homeowners is a sign of the times, Pappas said. The last time a national crisis shifted Cook County property taxes this much was during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Pappas said, when the bills were delayed a year to grant homeowners financial reprieve. That’s why today, people pay for the previous year’s property taxes.
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Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston, said he believes the votes are there to pass the proposed fee waiver.
“What I’m hearing from people is they’re very concerned,” Suffredin said. “They want to make sure that they are feeding their families and other priorities other than their taxes. … Until we try to get back to some form of normalcy, I think that all that fear does is just cause stress.”
Usually, the bill for the second installment of 2019 property tax payments goes out in July, but Pappas said she plans to electronically send the bills in early June to give homeowners a heads-up.
About 92% of the first installment of payments were made on time at the beginning of March — but Pappas predicts that number could plummet. Suffredin fears the default rate could spike to 20-30%.
“It could be really bad,” Pappas said. “The last time everybody was working and functioning, and not locked in their houses and staring at the ceiling watching Netflix and not having any money come in. This is a whole new ballgame.”
ayin@chicagotribune.com
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Twitter @byaliceyin


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, but here are the industries that Mayor Lori Lightfoot says a

Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, but here are the industries that Mayor Lori Lightfoot says are on track to expand or reopen during next phase

“ Any reopening has to be done in a way that puts residents ’ health and safety first and foremost @ @ @ @ @ “ This is something we all want to see happen .
But the mayor was @ @ @ @ @ it , and it should only be reopened when there are safety protocols in place @ @

A woman runs on a trail near West Wilson Drive on Chicago's lakefront near Montrose Harbor on Feb. 23, 2021. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, but several industries are on track to expand their services or reopen when the city reaches the next phase of its reopening plan, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.
It’s unclear when the city’s lakefront might reopen. But in a virtual speech to the Economic Club of Chicago, Lightfoot warned that the next six to 12 months are likely to include managing new outbreaks, as has happened in Georgia, South Korea and Singapore, and said progress will continue to be slow.
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She also warned that the public’s continued adherence to stay-at-home social distancing rules will be key to making progress.
“Reopening will be like slowly turning on a dimmer, not flipping a light switch,” Lightfoot said.
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[ Mayor Lori Lightfoot lays out ‘five-star’ plan for reopening Chicago. Here's a closer look. ]
The industries that are currently on track to expand include those that are essential to providing basic needs and fighting the COVID-19 crisis, including grocery stores, emergency health care services, public transportation and social services, Lightfoot said.
The second are industries with built-in social distancing and where protective gear is part of usual operations, including nonemergency but important medical procedures, Lightfoot said.
It also includes construction and manufacturing previously halted, which will resume with health protocols in place, Lightfoot said.
In the next phase, Lightfoot said she wants to reopen child and adult care services, with a focus on essential workers.
This includes industries such as child care, which will resume operations with a focus on essential workers.
The city also will expect to reopen parks and library programming with strict health protocols, Lightfoot said.
Chicago is working to determine how best to reopen restaurants, retail, and salons — things that, the mayor said, “make us feel human."
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
A Lightfoot spokeswoman said the city could not estimate when the earliest reopening date for the lakefront may be.
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North Side Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, whose ward includes a long stretch of lakefront in the Edgewater neighborhood, said he respected Lightfoot’s decision to close the trail and beaches.
“Any reopening has to be done in a way that puts residents’ health and safety first and foremost,” Osterman said. “This is something we all want to see happen. But the mayor was right when she initially closed it, and it should only be reopened when there are safety protocols in place.”
And Lincoln Park Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, said lakefront aldermen are talking to the mayor’s office about ways to safely reopen. “But one thing on which the aldermen are unanimous: People need to demonstrate that they will be responsible,” Smith said.
“We all agree everybody should be wearing a face covering all the time, and until that becomes more popularly accepted, none of these ideas will work when on a typical day 30,000 people are on the trail and 100,000 are on it on a nice summer weekend,” Smith said.
Lightfoot’s announcements mark the latest guidelines she’s provided for potentially reopening the city.
Last Friday, Lightfoot laid out a five-phase plan that layers additional standards for rates of infection and testing capacity on top of the state rules Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled earlier. As with Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan, Lightfoot’s framework sets a high bar for returning to normalcy.
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[ How will Illinois reopen? Three charts breaking down Pritzker’s plan ]
Lightfoot can’t set looser standards than the statewide ones laid out by the governor, but she can tailor them to the city. Her plan is “specifically designed for Chicago’s residents and businesses, and encompassing a clear, data-driven five-phase process," she said.
Under Lightfoot’s plan, the city also would need to be able to test 135,000 residents per month, with positive rates decreasing below 15% of those tested in the community and at least 14 days of declining rates of new cases, on average. Positive rates of below 30% would be needed in “congregate” settings such as nursing homes, shelters and jails, according to the Lightfoot plan.
Those standards are stricter than what Pritzker laid out last week for his statewide plan. The governor called for positive rates at or below 20% and an increase in the positive rate of no more than 10 percentage points over 14 days.
Chicago is currently in what the city calls phase two of its recovery, a period Lightfoot’s plan dubs “stay-at-home.”
Before moving into phase three, labeled “cautiously reopen,” the city would need to see a decline in the COVID-19 case rate over 14 days and a declining rate of new cases, stable or declining rates of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, fewer than 1,800 coronavirus patients in hospital beds, fewer than 600 coronavirus patients in ICU beds, and fewer than 450 coronavirus patients on ventilators, Lightfoot said.
In her speech on Wednesday, Lightfoot noted the city’s “far along” in dealing with hospital capacity but “have a ways to go” on case rate and testing positivity rates.
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Still, the mayor said, the city is not yet ready to reopen the lakefront.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois

Gov .
J.B. Pritzker and state health officials are scheduled to provide an update on the coronavirus in Illinois at @ @ @ @ @ the latest coronavirus updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-05-13--It’s all hands on deck for the Yates family during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think now is one of

It’s all hands on deck for the Yates family during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think now is one of the best times to really make a difference.’

“ Before , in the kind of everyday situations of life , there were a lot of things that held @ @ @ @ @ wanted to do , whether that ’ s create , start something or be a @ @ @ @ @ and I think now is the perfect time to really dive in headfirst to make @ @ @ @ @ Yates , a 2018 Northwestern graduate , said .
“ I think now is one @ @ @ @ @ really make a difference .
My two cents : Just go do it .
”

Carl Mazzone checks his temperature with a touchless image thermal scanner from Yates Enterprises before entering the office at Mazzone Pasta on May 13, 2020, in Bloomingdale. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Have a conversation with the Yates family, and you’ll leave with a new mantra: The family that tackles COVID-19 together, stays together. This South Loop-based family is doing its part when it comes to moving toward coronavirus solutions.
Dr. William Yates, founder and owner of Yates Enterprises, sells temperature detectors to companies and organizations. His wife, Dr. Isaure Yates, is a medical director for Advocate Health Care and a geriatric hospitalist working with older adults on the South Side. And two of their four children (Lloyd, 23, and Tilford, 29) are making masks and mask accessories as part of their high fashion and leisure wear clothing lines, respectively. It’s all hands on deck for the Yates family during this pandemic.
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The Yates family, from left, Tilford Yates, Lloyd Yates, Dr. William Yates and Dr. Isaure Yates on May 8, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
“Before, in the kind of everyday situations of life, there were a lot of things that held us back from what we wanted to do, whether that’s create, start something or be a part of something bigger, and I think now is the perfect time to really dive in headfirst to make it happen,” Lloyd Yates, a 2018 Northwestern graduate, said. “I think now is one of the best times to really make a difference. My two cents: Just go do it.”
For Lloyd, doing it means starting a tie business before graduating, then growing that business to become Tylmen, a company that sells combination pocket squares/face masks for adults, children and pets among other accessories. (It was recently featured in GQ. According to Lloyd, for every item sold, a tree is planted in Kenya via One Tree Planted to combat global warming.)
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Tilford Yates shows a face mask that attaches to a cap. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
For Tilford, doing it means creating clothing for Ben x Til with his best friend. Their latest design goes on sale this week: a ball cap with buttons affixed to the side above the ears that are used to attach face masks to prevent discomfort from straps on one’s ears. (Hoodies with buttons will soon follow, Tilford said.) Ben x Til is giving away a free face mask with every order; Tilford said the company donates 10% of its monthly sales to the World Wildlife Fund.
“I don’t think anyone could have anticipated this situation, but the good thing about my dad and our family is that we’re always able to react on our feet really quickly,” said the graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology and legal counsel for Yates Enterprises.
Because elevated temperature is one sign of COVID-19, Yates Enterprises offers a line of protection products ranging in price from $150 to $30,000 and includes walk-through, wall-mounted and handheld temperature detectors for workplaces and public spaces in preparation for when businesses reopen. Launched in May 2018, Yates Enterprises pivoted from selling metal detectors to temperature scanners. William Yates said he has sold temperature detection equipment to food processing plants, banks and nonprofits, both locally and nationally.
“When business is allowed to resume, it will be in a form we are not accustomed to,” William Yates said. “What will the new normal look like? It must include fast, efficient safeguards to protect people. People are paranoid; they’re just not going to come back out just because you’re open. We’re providing assurance for customers, employers and employees that you’re doing the most you can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Lalo Hernandez checks his temperature with a touchless thermal scanner before entering work at Mazzone Pasta on May 13, 2020, in Bloomingdale. Carl Mazzone, the owner, installed touchless thermometers at the end of April as a precautionary measure. His company makes 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of pasta every day for the retail and food service industries. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Carl Mazzone, president of Bloomingdale-based Mazzone Pasta, bought a pair of thermal scanners for his 24 employees in April, as well as a separate scanner for visitors. A search for personal protective equipment found Yates Enterprises, Mazzone said, and the company ended up buying: a touchless scanner for employees to use as they enter the building before their shifts, a handheld device the shift supervisor holds for rechecks—, and a temperature detector with facial recognition at the main entrance for visitors.
Employees approach the the initial scanner one at a time, placing their forehead or wrist a couple of inches from the sensor. If their temperature is normal, they are free to pass. If an alarm sounds, the employee is screened again with the handheld infrared forehead thermometer by the supervisor. So far, no COVID-19 cases have been reported at the year-old company, Mazzone said.
“We knew we had to improve our operations to make sure our employees were protected, safe and had peace of mind coming and going into the facility,” he said. When asked about the cost for small businesses like his during these tough economic times, Mazzone said this type of equipment is money well spent. He said employees use the scanners regularly, including when returning from break or lunch.
“It’s more than affordable considering what can happen to your business if you don’t have safeguards in place,” he said. “Without our employees, we don’t have a business — they’re everything for us to keep business going. So, what do we need to do to have their confidence, their peace of mind that we’re doing everything we can for them to come into work and be in a safe environment?”
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William Yates said his family’s secret sauce is to employ generosity and entrepreneurship while finding simple solutions for common problems.
“We take a common problem, come up with a simple solution. It’s pretty much the same with everything we do,” he said. “I’m always telling them (his children) it’s the simple things that make the big difference.”
drockett@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--How to do dim sum at home with dumplings, seafood noodles and coveted custard buns

Danny Fang opened D Cuisine last summer with girlfriend Cuiwen Chen .
Fang moved to Chicago from Guangzhou , the @ @ @ @ @ to go to school .
Instead , he eventually worked at MingHin , not as @ @ @ @ @ server for eight years .
At D Cuisine , he relies on a sifu , @ @ @ @ @ calls his chef , to make classic and contemporary Cantonese dishes , including artisan and @ @ @ @

You may be missing the rituals of dim sum more than ever during the coronavirus pandemic. Not just the steamy silver carts, already endangered in favor of picture menus and touch pads, but the raucous family gatherings, once considered impediments to your favorite basket of dumplings, are also fondly missed.
While your dining table might lack a Lazy Susan, you can still get a dim sum spread at home from many Chicago-area restaurants — use our dim sum guide for more on what to order.
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At D Cuisine — one of the best Chinese restaurants in the Chicago area, found squarely between Chinatown and Uptown’s Argyle Street, in the Park West neighborhood of Lincoln Park — they specialize in Cantonese dishes and dim sum.
Seafood chow mein noodles (center) and dim sum are staples at D Cuisine Cantonese Chinese restaurant, located in the Park West neighborhood of Chicago. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
A mini Chinese language, geography and cultural lesson (and possible home school fodder): Canton was the old, Romanized name for Guangdong. It’s a province — akin to a state in the United States — on the southeastern coast of China.
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Guangdong is the historical home to some of the most highly revered cuisine in China, and the largest number of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. for most of the last century. Through generations of family-owned small businesses, they established Chinatowns across this country, including in Chicago.
Danny Fang opened D Cuisine last summer with girlfriend Cuiwen Chen. Fang moved to Chicago from Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong, to go to school. Instead, he eventually worked at MingHin, not as a chef, but a server for eight years. At D Cuisine, he relies on a sifu, or master, as he calls his chef, to make classic and contemporary Cantonese dishes, including artisan and small-batch dim sum.
Regular readers know the dumplings there are absolutely impeccable, especially the chubby pork and shrimp shumai, bedazzled with sparkling tobiko, or flying fish roe, for luxurious surf-and-turf bites.
Baked creamy egg yolks buns, or pineapple custard buns, for dim sum at D Cuisine. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
The chef also bakes the coveted pineapple custard bao, aka baked creamy egg yolk bun. Fans know they contain no fruit, but are so named because the crackly sweet tops look like spiky tropical peels.
At D Cuisine, you should order the baos at least a day in advance. “They take four hours to make,” said Fang, “and we don’t sell a lot.” The recipe requires time for the yeasted dough to rise, which pandemic bread bakers will understand all too well.
Seafood chow mein noodles and dim sum at D Cuisine Cantonese Chinese restaurant in the Park West neighborhood of Chicago on May 10, 2020. (Louisa Chu / Chicago Tribune)
Whatever dim sum you get, order noodles, too. You’ll probably be too stuffed from little dishes, but traditionally, at least one main dish quells any phantom pangs of hunger. The seafood chow mein ($11.95) studs smoky, curlicue wisps of noodles with fat shrimp, tender squid and buttery scallops.
Call the restaurant directly to order for contact-free pickup. Curbside drop-off into your car trunk is possible upon request, if they’re not too busy. D Cuisine is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with dim sum all day. Main dishes, like chow mein, are available from noon until close.
2723 N. Clark St., 773-360-7239, dcuisinechicago.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Grocery prices see biggest monthly increase in nearly 50 years

The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s based on prices of food , clothing , shelter , fuels , @ @ @ @ @ with charges for doctors ’ and dentists ’ services , drugs , and the other @ @ @ @ @ buy for day-to-day living .

A shopper pushes his cart past a display of packaged meat in a grocery store Sunday, May 10, 2020, in southeast Denver. Problems triggered by the new coronavirus have triggered shortages of meat in some parts of the country. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski/AP)
The coronavirus pandemic has folks paying more to stock up at the grocery store and eat at home.
U.S. grocery prices saw their biggest monthly increase in nearly 50 years last month, according to the latest report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased the most among food groups, rising 4.3%. A separate index for eggs alone increased 16.1%.
The index for cereals and bakery products also rose 2.9% in April, its largest monthly increase ever.
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All six major grocery store food groups increased at least 1.5% month-to-month, the Labor Department said.
Overall, U.S. consumers paid 2.6% more in April for groceries, which is the largest one-month jump since February 1974.
In the Chicago area, April grocery prices were up 5.8% and costs for food away from home increased 2.1% compared with a year ago. Some of the biggest gains in the food-at-home category were nonalcoholic beverages, up 10.7% from a year ago and dairy products, up 9.5%. Prices for meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 4.7%.
The gains in food prices were offset by dramatically lower energy costs. Year over year in April, gas prices in the Chicago area were down 37.1%.
The increase in food prices came in a period in which more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs.
Two of President Trump’s top economic advisers recently projected that unemployment will continue to climb, with one official predicting that the unemployment rate will jump to 20% in the near future, the Washington Post reported. This will continue to drive households into food insecurity.
The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. It’s based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, fuels, and transportation fares, along with charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus

As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward , the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have @ @ @ @ @ Chicago area or who have connections to our region .
These are some of those @ @

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents. Two were sisters from a tight-knit South Side family. All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed.
As the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 ticks upward, the Tribune is working to chronicle those who have lost their lives in the Chicago area or who have connections to our region. These are some of those victims.
If you know of someone or would like to offer a remembrance of someone please share your information here. To file a death notice, go here.
Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune: Our mission is to deliver trusted and meaningful local news. Your support allows us to continue providing the award-winning, watchdog and in-depth journalism our community deserves. Subscribe here.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Column:  Fed chair Powell shares shocking job loss numbers. Pelosi’s coronavirus relief plan is big

Column:  Fed chair Powell shares shocking job loss numbers. Pelosi’s coronavirus relief plan is big — and we need big.

Respectfully , Sen. McConnell , that ’ s a load of rat poop .
Now , at this unprecedented moment @ @ @ @ @ history , is exactly the time for aspirational legislation .
It is time for something @ @ @ @ @ protect human beings — you remember them , don ’ t you ?
— and @ @ @ @ @ need to ride out this crisis without having to choose between losing their homes or @ @ @ @ @ contagious disease .

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks to a TV interview on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 12, 2020. Pelosi earlier introduced the Heroes Act aid package, that provides nearly $1 trillion for states and cities, and "hazard pay" for essential workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Time)
Americans are facing the most urgent economic crisis since the Great Depression. Small businesses are shutting down by the thousands, unemployment has rocketed into double digits and the virus causing this mayhem is far from contained.
With people frustrated and fearful, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is focused on making sure businesses are legally protected from workers who get sick. And on Tuesday, he dismissed a Democratic effort to help struggling Americans by saying: “This is not a time for aspirational legislation.”
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Respectfully, Sen. McConnell, that’s a load of rat poop. Now, at this unprecedented moment in our nation’s history, is exactly the time for aspirational legislation. It is time for something big, something that will protect human beings — you remember them, don’t you? — and give Americans the reassurance they need to ride out this crisis without having to choose between losing their homes or contracting a vicious and highly contagious disease.
McConnell’s dismissive statement was in response to a massive, $3 trillion coronavirus rescue bill House Democrats released Tuesday. Admittedly, the 1,800-page bill, in true Democratic form, tries to do too much. It ranges from the aforementioned protecting human beings (very important) to funding the Postal Service (also very important, but maybe a separate issue) to requiring airplane passenger to wear masks (important, but perhaps something airlines should handle).
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The bill would provide $500 billion for state governments and $350 billion for local governments whose budgets have been decimated by coronavirus spending. Essential workers would benefit from a fund that provides hazard pay. The bill calls for a second round of stimulus payments to Americans, up to $6,000 for a household.
It allots $3 billion to increase mental health support, something Americans desperately need, and something Republicans should support since they’ve rightly expressed concern that the coronavirus shutdown is leading to increased drug use and suicide.
Other parts of the bill increase nutrition assistance benefits, provide billions in housing assistance, create $10 billion in additional grants for small businesses and extend the $600-per-week coronavirus unemployment insurance through the end of the year.
There’s also more money for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, which are essential to finding safe ways to reopen the economy.
These are massive proposals aimed at addressing a massive problem. It’s one thing for conservatives to argue the scope of these plans, but it’s another entirely to dismiss them as “aspirational” poppycock.
Things are bad, and they’re going to get worse. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: “Among people who were working in February, almost 40% of those in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March.” More than 20 million Americans lost their jobs in April. Unemployment is pushing 15%. Even in states foolishly opening their economies, coronavirus cases be damned, residents aren’t coming out in large numbers.
Restaurants won’t magically recover when they can seat, at most, half the number of customers they did before. Stores won’t be crowded. Commuters aren’t returning en masse.
It’s fiction to think otherwise.
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And that means Americans need help from — if you’re a conservative I’m going to have to ask you to sit down — their government. They need a response that matches the enormity of the crisis.
In announcing the new bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “We must think big for the people now, because if we don’t it will cost more in lives and livelihood later. Not acting is the most expensive course.”
I can already hear the howls of Pelosi haters and furrowed-brow deficit hawks. You know, the ones who weren’t howling much when Republicans, while not facing a pandemic or any sort of crisis, gleefully passed a $1.5 trillion tax cut in 2017 that largely benefited the rich, did little to goose the economy and ballooned the deficit.
Granted, it’s not an apples to apples comparison, but it opens the nasal passageways to a hypocrisy that stinks like rotten oranges.
For the time being, and for an undetermined number of months to come, until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine or at least a reliable treatment that dramatically reduces the death rate, forget everything you understood about how America’s economy functions. It will not return to normal anytime soon, and anyone telling you otherwise is either ignoring or not fully grasping the situation.
Americans need help. They will continue to need help. And that help can’t come in dribs and drabs.
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This moment calls for a big, bold response. House Democrats have presented something undoubtedly too big and too bold for Republicans to stomach. That’s OK. That’s where debate and — dare I say it? — compromise needs to happen.
But to flippantly mock such a response as “aspirational” while working to shield companies from litigation? That’s snotty and small. It puts the suffering of humans below the suffering of corporations that line the pockets of politicians.
Americans need their government to work for them right now, more than they have since the Great Depression. Americans need legislation that gives them hope, and protection. They need people to think big.
It’s going to cost a lot on the front end. But without it, the costs will be incalculable, the suffering immense, and the responsibility a crushing weight on the shoulders of those who stubbornly stuck to thinking small.
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Evanston man charged in shooting of woman on Howard Street, police say

Investigators found the woman was the passenger in a vehicle on the 500 block of Howard Street when someone in @ @ @ @ @ them and opened fire , according to the release .
After the woman was hit @ @ @ @ @ with took her to the hospital .

An Evanston man was arrested May 11 and charged in the shooting of a woman on Howard Street on April 27, according to an Evanston Police Department press release.
Elijah Emil Murphy, 24, of the 800 block of Hinman Avenue, was charged with one felony count of aggravated battery with a firearm after he was arrested in Bloomington, according to the release.
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His arrest followed an incident April 27, when police got a call that a woman had been shot in the chest near the intersection of Howard Street and Chicago Avenue, according to the release. Responding officers did not find the victim or the shooter.
Police, however, got another call about 10 minutes after the original shots were fired saying a 28-year old Evanston woman was at Evanston Hospital with gunshot wounds to her chest and right arm.
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Investigators found the woman was the passenger in a vehicle on the 500 block of Howard Street when someone in another car pulled up alongside them and opened fire, according to the release. After the woman was hit, the driver she was with took her to the hospital.
Investigators interviewed the victim and witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage, according to the release. In doing so they identified Murphy as the shooter, authorities said, and he was arrested in Bloomington and charged with the shooting.
Murphy is scheduled to appear in court May 28 in Skokie. He is being held in Cook County Jail on $500,000 bond.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--25-year-old Aurora man killed in shooting

Paris Brandon , of the 700 block of Huntington Drive , was found with a gunshot wound in front of @ @ @ @ @ lived just before 5:15 a.m. , officials said in a news release .

A 25-year-old Aurora man was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon near his home on the city’s west side, officials said.
Paris Brandon, of the 700 block of Huntington Drive, was found with a gunshot wound in front of the apartment complex where he lived just before 5:15 a.m., officials said in a news release.
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Officers were dispatched to reports of a person shot in front of the complex, and Brandon was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives responded to the scene and are investigating. Evidence technicians also responded to identify and collect evidence.
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This is the second shooting to occur in May in Aurora. Twenty-two-year-old Ronell Dortch Jr. was fatally shot on May 3.
Anyone with information on Tuesday’s shooting should call Aurora Police’s Investigations Division at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000 to report information anonymously.
mejones@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Chicago to resume regular street cleaning schedule next week, but hold off ticketing because of stay

Chicago to resume regular street cleaning schedule next week, but hold off ticketing because of stay-at-home order

The Department of Streets and Sanitation announced March 31 that it wasn ’ t planning to post no-parking signs for @ @ @ @ @ ’ s stay-at-home order .
Officials would “ not be posting or ticketing and there @ @ @ @ @ , ” although there would be street cleaning citywide , the department said at the @ @ @ @ @ services under the lockdown .

We have lifted the paywall on this story. To support essential reporting, please consider becoming a subscriber .
After only street sweeping around parked cars for six weeks because of the Illinois stay-at-home order, Chicago was scheduled to start posting no-parking notices and following its regular street cleaning routes Monday, according to the city.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation announced March 31 that it wasn’t planning to post no-parking signs for street sweeping during the state’s stay-at-home order. Officials would “not be posting or ticketing and there will not be scheduled cleanings,” although there would be street cleaning citywide, the department said at the time in an update on services under the lockdown.
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In notices posted by aldermen Tuesday, officials said Streets and San would officially start regular street sweeping Monday, following the calendar the department set before the stay-at-home order. In a release Wednesday morning, department officials said tickets won’t be issued, but signs will be posted before street cleaning days, except where there are permanent signs noting regular days for street cleaning.
“It is critical we maintain the cleanliness of our streets. However, the department is cognizant that it may be difficult for residents to move vehicles during the governor’s stay-at-home order,” said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner John Tully in the release.
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Schedules for street cleaning for all 50 wards, as well as a tracker for street sweepers, can be found on the city’s website, www.chicago.gov.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Little Company of Mary hospital was up against it when the coronavirus hit. Then central Illinois nu

Little Company of Mary hospital was up against it when the coronavirus hit. Then central Illinois nurses came to the rescue.

Her ICU colleagues noticed her struggling and called the hospital chaplain , who took her down to the chapel to @ @ @ @ @ a prayer .
She wanted to get back to her unit and her patients as @ @ @ @ @ the chaplain told her that she wouldn ’ t be able to fully care for @ @ @ @ @ t care for herself first .

Nurse Shelby Voyles cleans her shield after leaving a patient room in the ICU on May 12, 2020, at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Shelby Voyles and her firefighter fiance, Jake Mohr, often talked about what would happen if another Sept. 11 attack occurred.
Without children or other pressing family responsibilities, the couple decided that he should go wherever he could help most while she would stay back in central Illinois to take care of the farm. They never planned for the possibility that Voyles, a registered nurse with experience in providing critical care, would be the one volunteering to go to the front lines.
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Eight weeks ago, Voyles raised her hand to work the overnight shift in the intensive care unit at OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center, a 298-bed hospital serving a portion of southern Cook County hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nurse Shelby Voyles, right, works with Danielle Litro on May 8, 2020, at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
As she moves about her duties in the ICU, Voyles wears a surgical cap with firetrucks printed all over it. It’s intended to honor her fiance, but it just as easily could represent her willingness to run toward danger while others seek safer ground.
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“This was my choice. No one made me come here to work," she said after finishing a recent 12-hour shift. “I don’t have kids and I’m healthy. If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
The Catholic hospital views Voyles’ arrival — quite literally — as a godsend. She is among more than 100 central Illinois nurses who have traveled to Evergreen Park since mid-March to help the medical center fight the coronavirus.
The traveling nurses all work for OSF HealthCare, the Peoria-based Catholic hospital system that officially merged with Little Company of Mary on Feb. 1. The ink had barely dried on the deal when the pandemic struck, and Little Company of Mary found itself leaning on its corporate parent for everything from personal protective equipment to additional personnel.
With central and southern Illinois handling fewer COVID-19 cases than the Chicago area, the hospital system could throw substantial support toward Little Company of Mary, now its second-largest medical center and the only one in the metropolitan area.
“I don’t know what we would have done without them,” said Eileen Knightly, the hospital’s chief nursing officer. “It has been a challenging time, and they were instantly there to help us. By the grace of God, central Illinois did not get hit as hard as we did, so they could share a lot of their resources.”
And no resource has been more valuable than nurses like Voyles.
Nurse Shelby Voyles, left, gets information on her patients as she begins her shift in the ICU. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
As the pandemic hit, Little Company of Mary doubled its number of ICU beds to 38, increasing its need for highly skilled nurses to care for critically ill patients. Other local hospitals also increased capacity, compounding an existing nursing shortage and heightening the demand for nurses from staffing agencies.
The situation left hospitals fighting over the available talent pool, with some agencies doubling their fees and nurses signing up for better-paying gigs at the now-defunct McCormick Center field hospital.
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Little Company of Mary avoided the struggle entirely. Its Peoria headquarters — referred to at the hospital as “the ministry” — has rotated through 112 registered nurses since March 12. Some have made periodic visits, while more than 50 have worked there on a regular basis for two months.
Voyles is one of them, making the more than two-hour drive from her McLean County farm each week.
A floating nurse in the OSF hospital system, she is accustomed to working at different places and quickly adapting to their distinct rhythms. She had even done a brief stint at Little Company of Mary a few months ago, when she helped the staff transition to the OSF computer system.
Her familiarity with the hospital’s intensive care unit spurred her decision to help there. Nothing, however, could have prepared her for the fast, heartbreaking pace of the ICU amid the outbreak.
“These people are so much sicker than your average ICU patient,” she said. “They can go south so fast, so you have to be on high alert all the time. … And you can absolutely do that, you can be on high alert. But when you combine that intensity with the emotional part of it, it’s just so hard.”
Voyles typically works from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., caring for patients in an ICU that often hovers near capacity. In addition to her medical responsibilities, Voyles also feels an obligation to be a surrogate family member for patients, who are barred from having visitors. Sometimes that means a few extra minutes of small talk or a squeeze of the hand. Other times it requires holding up an iPad so a patient can listen as relatives share words of love and comfort.
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Nurse Shelby Voyles talks to a fellow nurse while working in the ICU. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
"We can help patients FaceTime with family members or put them on speakerphone so they can hear their loved one’s voice,” she said. “You have no idea if that’s going to be the last time they hear them talk, so you have to do everything you can.”
Voyles typically maintains a four-days-on, two-days-off schedule, which allows her to spend a little time back at home. At least three nights a week, she stays at a Chicago-area hotel that also houses Illinois National Guard soldiers and other front-line workers who have come to help the city battle COVID-19.
In attempt to maintain a somewhat healthy diet, she stocks her small hotel refrigerator with chicken salad cups, hummus and fresh fruit. Voyles tries to avoid fast food, though she says she has become friends with the counter workers at the Dunkin location where she and fellow OSF nurses grab coffee each morning.
When she’s not sleeping at the hotel, she watches “Grey’s Anatomy” reruns, though the sudsy show seems jarringly low key compared with the dramatic circumstances Voyles confronts each day.
“No one has ever seen anything like the situation we are dealing with now," she said.
She acknowledges the situation could have been much more difficult if her Little Company of Mary colleagues didn’t embrace the traveling nurses’ help. With the once proudly independent hospital pulled into the corporate realm for the first time in its 90-year history, there were bound to be small resentments about the changes that inevitably come with new ownership.
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The coronavirus, however, has hastened the adjustment period and transformed the hospital system into a single unit quicker than anticipated. Indeed, the Little Company of Mary staff now marvels at the merger’s serendipitous timing.
On a recent weekday morning, more than one Little Company nurse suggested that Mary Potter — the British nun who started the religious order that founded the hospital — must have played a role securing reinforcements.
Nurses Lisa Gonzalez, left, and Shelby Voyles talk as they work together in the ICU. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
“Mary Potter played a great card game with God up there. That’s the only way I can explain it,” said Michelle Galvin, a nurse manager who oversees several of the COVID beds. “If we were standing alone, I know the PPE situation wouldn’t have gone well and I also know we wouldn’t had the extra nursing support. And we need it.”
Voyles also feels a connection to Little Company of Mary that feels much longer than seven weeks. The staff, she says, has leaned on one another through difficult days, including the death of Voyles’ grandfather a few weeks ago.
Her ICU colleagues noticed her struggling and called the hospital chaplain, who took her down to the chapel to light a candle and say a prayer. She wanted to get back to her unit and her patients as soon as possible, but the chaplain told her that she wouldn’t be able to fully care for others if she didn’t care for herself first.
In that moment, Voyles realized he was right. She also realized that she had found a true home, however temporary, at Little Company of Mary.
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“I may have been dropped at their door unexpectedly," she said, “but they adopted me. This is absolutely where I’m meant to be right now.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--‘It was set to be a record year’: Great Lakes cruise operators buckle up for a rough season in wake

‘It was set to be a record year’: Great Lakes cruise operators buckle up for a rough season in wake of the pandemic

“ Cruising on the Great Lakes is likely to be more resilient than the cruise industry generally , ” said @ @ @ @ @ of Newfoundland professor , in an email .
“ This is in part because of @ @ @ @ @ in part because people may become reluctant to travel outside the U.S. , and in @ @ @ @ @ not as vulnerable to the economic downturn , ” largely because they tend to skew @ @ @ @ @ of mass market lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival .

May typically marks the start of the season for cruise vacations on the Great Lakes, a burgeoning segment of the market that was shaping up to have a banner year in 2020.
Until the pandemic turned the tourism industry on its head, buzz had been building about Great Lakes cruises — and so had business.
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The magazine Travel + Leisure dubbed the Great Lakes one of the world’s top 50 spots to visit this year, crediting much of the kudos to the region’s growing cruise offerings. The number of port calls was expected to be way up in 2020, with 11 ships making an estimated 950 stops at dozens of docks from Chicago to Montreal. That’s compared with nine ships and 520 port calls in 2019, according to the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition.
“Now, it’s all come to a screeching halt,” said Stephen Burnett, executive director of the Canada-based coalition that promotes passenger cruises. “It’s safe to say at least half the Great Lakes cruising season is a wash at this point.”
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Despite facing a fair number of canceled trips and lots of uncertainty on the horizon, Burnett and others remain bullish about the future of Great Lakes cruising. They say the close-to-home itineraries and relatively low passenger counts aboard small, nimble vessels make the cruises an attractive alternative to the oceangoing megaships that came to symbolize the spread of COVID-19.
“If people have anxiety about international travel post-pandemic, they’re going to ... avoid some of these larger, behemoth cruise ships you see in the Mediterranean and Caribbean,” said Port Milwaukee Director Adam Schlicht. He noted that the proximity of North American medical care is another selling point for passengers nervous about the health consequences of cruising in the wake of the new coronavirus.
While operators in the Great Lakes market may have some advantages over ocean liners carrying 3,000-plus passengers, it won’t be smooth sailing for anyone for some time, predicted industry expert and author Ross Klein.
“Cruising on the Great Lakes is likely to be more resilient than the cruise industry generally,” said Klein, a Memorial University of Newfoundland professor, in an email. “This is in part because of the size of ships, in part because people may become reluctant to travel outside the U.S., and in part because the clientele is not as vulnerable to the economic downturn,” largely because they tend to skew older than the target audience of mass market lines like Royal Caribbean and Carnival.
“But all of this is more in terms of 2021,” Klein added. “I don’t think the Great Lakes will fare much better than Alaska for the 2020 cruise season.”
Blount Small Ship Adventures, whose trips typically include an eight-day loop around Lake Michigan, beginning and ending in Chicago’s Burnham Harbor, recently bulked up its Great Lakes offerings. It added a new trip last season from Chicago to Montreal, hitting four Great Lakes and the Erie Canal aboard an intimate, 84-passenger vessel.
Blount marketing manager Kerri Fitzgerald said Tuesday that the cruise line has suspended all 2020 and 2021 voyages in the Great Lakes and beyond.
Blount Small Ship Adventures' Grande Mariner docked at Chicago's Burnham Harbor. The pandemic has prompted the cruise line to suspend all 2020 and 2021 voyages in the Great Lakes and beyond. (Blount Small Ship Adventures)
One of the biggest players in the Great Lakes sandbox, Victory Cruise Lines, has yanked one of its two 202-passenger ships from the region. It’s also axed nearly two-thirds of this year’s 33 cruises.
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The Victory I is scheduled to kick off its abbreviated season July 5 with an 11-day trip, starting at $5,199 a person, from Toronto to Chicago — provided Canada doesn’t extend its ban on cruise ships beyond June 30. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a no-sail order until July 24 for vessels carrying at least 250 people on overnight trips, which doesn’t apply to many of the smaller Great Lakes ships.)
“It’s bad — unprecedented,” Victory CEO John Waggoner said about the pandemic’s effect not only on Great Lakes cruises, but on river cruises operated by his New Albany, Indiana-based American Queen Steamboat Co.
“Our entire fleet is tied up, and we’ve had to furlough 700 crew members,” said the Elgin-born Waggoner.
American Queen Steamboat Co.'s newest ship, the American Countess, was supposed to be christened with a bottle of bourbon at an April 4 celebration in New Orleans. Now the paddlewheeler sits idle on the Mississippi River, awaiting a virtual christening ceremony on a date to be determined.
Waggoner had been looking forward to “a really big year on the Great Lakes” with his pair of recently refurbished Victory ships. Both were slated to dock in Chicago, where a total of 22 visits by Great Lakes cruise ships were scheduled this year — a sizable jump from the 14 port calls the city had in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
The pandemic has put the kibosh on at least half of these visits, including the now scuttled 2020 inaugural Great Lakes voyage of German-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ new luxury expedition vessel, Hanseatic Inspiration. That debut has been pushed back to fall 2021.
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Before Victory II got pulled out of the Great Lakes rotation this year, the ship was supposed to make 10 stops at Navy Pier.
Navy Pier’s vice president of marketing and communications, Cory Jobe, said in an email that his organization sees “great potential in the tourism and economic opportunities” of Great Lakes cruises.
“Our hope is that once the pandemic is over, we will be able to further explore the opportunity to host more Great Lakes vessels and welcome new guests to Navy Pier and Chicago,” he said.
The Port of Cleveland had been watching its cruise visits climb in recent years, from a mere nine port calls in 2017 to 22 in 2018. Last year, it had 28. This year, 41 were on the books, pre-pandemic. That number has since dropped to 12.
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“It’s put a huge dent in our growth,” said the port’s chief commercial officer, David Gutheil. And the trickle-down effect dings the local economy.
“We’ve been told the average passenger spends about $150 per day,” he said. “That’s a pretty significant chunk of change for a growing tourism pocket.”
Victory Cruise Line's 202-passenger Victory I ship, docked at Michigan's Mackinac Island, a popular port on Great Lakes cruises. (Victory Cruise Lines)
Pearl Seas Cruises has suspended four of this season’s 13 Great Lakes trips aboard the 210-passenger Pearl Mist, said Charles B. Roberston, president and CEO of Pearl Seas and the much larger American Cruise Lines.
“It was set to be a record year,” Robertson said. “We were really well sold out for the summer season. With the pandemic, we’ve certainly seen a pause in demand. We’ve had a number of people decide to delay trips to 2021. But our guests are hardy, and many have said that if we’re in, then they’re in too. Occupancies remain fairly strong through the summer.”
When the Pearl Mist is back in service, things are going to look different, at least for a while, Robertson said. He anticipates reducing the number of passengers on each trip by as much as 25% to give people more space.
“We’re going to create a second dining venue so all guests can still dine at the same time, they’ll just be much more spread out,” he said. “We’ll have medical personnel on board traveling with us. We’ll do regular sanitation rounds every hour and much more robust pre-boarding screening,” such as taking passengers’ temperatures.
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Pearl Seas Cruises' Pearl Mist ship started sailing the Great Lakes in 2014. So far, four of this season’s 13 Great Lakes trips aboard the 210-passenger vessel have been suspended because of the pandemic. (Pearl Seas Cruises)
Victory also is making changes in response to the virus.
“We’re purchasing new thermal imaging cameras, so every time you swipe in at the gangway, it will take a picture of you that will have your temperature,” Waggoner said. “Anyone who has a temperature over 100 degrees, they’re not allowed to board.”
The ship’s dining room and tour buses will be reconfigured to promote social distancing. Entertainment shows will be added to accommodate smaller audiences. More hand-sanitizing stations are being installed, and the company bought electrostatic sprayers — the kind Delta Air Lines is using to sanitize plane cabins — to deep clean the ship’s public areas nightly.
Instead of allowing the maximum 202 guests aboard Victory I, capacity will be reduced to about 170, most likely for the rest of the season, Waggoner said.
If the cruise line has trouble filling that smaller number of cabins, prices could dip.
“For 2020, I think there will be some discounts, but that will be short lived,” Waggoner said. “By 2021, I think we’ll have a strong demand for the product on the Great Lakes.”
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Switzerland-based Viking, a giant in the European river cruise market, is forging ahead with plans it announced earlier this year to introduce a 378-guest expedition vessel, Viking Octantis, to the Great Lakes in 2022. Viking is launching Mississippi River cruises that same year. The company said both products continue to sell well for their inaugural seasons.
The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition’s Burnett said he expects other new names to begin sailing this veritable freshwater ocean soon.
“I’d been working with two or three new cruise lines for the Great Lakes before C-19 hit,” Burnett said. “Those conversations are just as vibrant and enthusiastic as they were before the lockdown.”
lrackl@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Pillar Booth usually makes ‘phone booths’ for offices. Now it also makes booths to protect health ca

Pillar Booth usually makes ‘phone booths’ for offices. Now it also makes booths to protect health care workers testing for COVID-19.

Eventually , the booths could be used outside of the health care industry , Leavitt said .
When the world @ @ @ @ @ in some professions will still need protections , and the Pillar Protect Booth might be @ @ @ @ @ .
Maybe it ’ s even a worker taking tickets .
There is already demand @ @ @ @ @ employees are required to get close to a client ’ s face .

Pillar Booth launched less than a year ago, selling soundproof “phone booths” companies can put in their offices to provide a distraction-free place for employees to work.
Such booths are gaining popularity as a respite from the noisiness of the open office. But with everyone working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic, Pillar Booth co-founder Ryan Leavitt had a new idea.
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Chicago-based Pillar Booth recently launched the Pillar Protect Booth, a Plexiglas, phone booth-shaped structure created to protect health care workers while they administer COVID-19 tests. (Pillar Booth)
Enter the Pillar Protect Booth, a Plexiglas phone booth-shaped structure created to protect health care workers while they administer COVID-19 tests.
“Orders are still coming in (for the Pillar Booth), but we can’t deliver anything because nobody’s in the office,” he said. “Now we’re actually able to use the time and resources to ramp up the Protect Booth.”
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The health care worker steps inside the booth and sticks their arms through long rubber gloves attached to one of the walls, administers the test and uses the shelves attached to the outside of the booth to hold equipment.
The gloves can be removed to be washed or disinfected. The booth is weatherproof, to accommodate the outside testing being done at many facilities, and it has wheels, so it can be easily moved.
Leavitt saw other countries enclosing their health care workers in booths as protection, and asked his wife, a nurse practitioner, if she thought it would work. Then he sought other consults.
[ Pandemic pivot: How Chicago-area businesses and workers are managing the coronavirus crisis ]
“We’ve talked to a lot of different health care providers in all different areas," he said. “We’ve talked to people that are in testing facilities, people that are in ICUs, people that are in the emergency room.”
Founders of Pillar Booth, from left, Ryan Leavitt, Sam Matthew and Jordan Goodman, stand for a photo with Morgan Li's co-owners Jonathan Rosenband, back, and his brother Andy Rosenband, on May 6, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
It took about 2½ weeks to design the booths, engineer the prototypes and get production going. The company officially launched the product in late April, and Leavitt said it will be ready to deliver soon.
The booths will be sold to hospitals, health care facilities and municipalities. Leavitt wants to donate some too. The company is partnering with Morgan Li, a Chicago Heights-based manufacturer of store fixtures and hotel furniture, to make the booths.
Eventually, the booths could be used outside of the health care industry, Leavitt said. When the world returns to work, people in some professions will still need protections, and the Pillar Protect Booth might be a solution, he said. Maybe it’s even a worker taking tickets. There is already demand from medical spas, where employees are required to get close to a client’s face.
But for now, protecting health care workers is the focus, Leavitt said. The Protect Booth is a way to help out immediately, and he said he’s happy to have found a way to lend a hand.
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“They’re the people on the front lines that need to be there and can help us get through this,” he said. “We’re in this booth world. We have the resources."
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AllyMarotti
The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Chicago-area companies and workers to face harsh realities about their paychecks and their place in the local economy. The Tribune is reaching out to hear, and share, their stories.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Chicago bracing for Mexican beer shortage as coronavirus industry shutdown persists

A Chicago liquor store owner who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation said @ @ @ @ @ felt locally , especially with regard to brands owned by Heineken USA .
Any drastic @ @ @ @ @ customers to switch the Budweiser or Miller , the store owner said .

A cooler with a variety of Mexican beer is seen at Mi Tocaya Antojeria on April 20, 2017, in Chicago. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago beer drinkers could see a shortage of popular imported Mexican brands as soon as next week due to an ongoing shutdown of Mexico’s beer industry.
Most immediately at risk are the brands owned by Heineken USA, including Dos Equis Tecate and Bohemia.
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Should the shutdown persist, beers owned by Constellation Brands — which include Modelo Especial, Corona and Pacifico — may also be in shorter supply by summer.
When Mexican beer production was paused in early April due to that country’s government not declaring brewing an “essential” industry — as it has been deemed in the U.S. — observers predicted it would be resolved quickly or wouldn’t translate into empty store shelves.
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However, the shutdown has endured. The Mexican government has said brewing can begin next week only in the places where COVID-19 has been curbed.
While Heineken has paused brewing in Mexico, Constellation has said it continues to brew for the U.S. market at a reduced capacity. However, how much beer Constellation is making and importing to the U.S. remains unclear.
Constellation did not respond to a request for comment.
Dos Equis, Tecate and Bohemia are believed to be limited to the stock on hand in the Chicago area as multiple beer distributors said they do not expect shipments of those brands for the foreseeable future.
Heineken USA did not respond to a request for comment.
Beer Business Daily reported Monday that distributors nationally have been told by Jim Sloan, sales chief of Heineken USA, that certain beers in certain packages “may not be available for ordering at certain times.”
That has included six- and 12-packs of Dos Equis bottles, 7-ounce Dos Equis bottles in four- and six-packs and 7-ounce bottles of Tecate Light, according to Beer Business Daily.
The issue has reached a crucial junction, said Harry Schuhmacher, editor and founder of Beer Business Daily.
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“If it lingers, it will be a problem and could be a huge issue,” Schuhmacher said. “It’s a big risk for Heineken and Constellation, but especially for Constellation.”
While Heineken is a diverse company with breweries around the world — including the Lagunitas brewery in Chicago — Constellation’s beer business, which is based in Chicago, is rooted almost entirely in making and importing Mexican beer to the U.S.
A Chicago liquor store owner who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the situation said the effects are already being felt locally, especially with regard to brands owned by Heineken USA. Any drastic decrease in product might force customers to switch the Budweiser or Miller, the store owner said.
Last week, Constellation put its brands on allocation to local distributors, which means there is a measured flow of the beer moving through the system rather than the usual limitless supply.
Being “on allocation” is common in the craft beer and whiskey worlds, where volumes are smaller and the most popular brands can’t keep up with demand. White Claw hard seltzer has been on allocation for more than a year.
In a report issued last week, Wall Street analyst MKM Partners downgraded Constellation’s stock to a “sell” rating due to the possibility of beer shortages, predicting “the breadth of (Constellation) U.S. out-of-stocks will increase through the end of June.”
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In the report, MKM’s Bill Kirk said Constellation needs 40 days to brew and ship most beer. If the company "can’t increase production by mid-May, July could feature wide out-of-stocks,” Kirk said.
Mexican imports have become a formidable segment of the U.S. beer industry. Modelo Especial is the nation’s fourth-highest-selling brand with more than $618 million in sales in 2020 through April 19, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Corona is the nation’s seventh highest-selling brand and Dos Equis is 16th.
Exacerbating the shortfall is a spike in beer sales since COVID-19 stay-at-home orders began in March. Modelo Especial sales were up 23%, Corona sales were up 15% and Dos Equis sales were up 13% for the four-week period ending April 19, according to IRI.
jbnoel@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Can you get a marriage license in Cook County during the coronavirus pandemic? Well, that depends.

“ At the time , the office said they thought they ’ d have an online process up and running @ @ @ @ @ , ” says Rose .
“ I tried calling back a few weeks later but @ @ @ @ @ at first .
... Out of desperation , I left messages to our congresswoman , @ @ @ @ @ her aides called me back and said , we ’ re sorry , and it @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re going to have anything in place in Illinois at all .
She @ @ @ @ @ couple of other people in desperate situations who need spousal privileges .
”

Imagine planning your dream Chicago wedding only to have the ceremony postponed due to the novel coronavirus. And imagine all of the hoops you would need to jump through to even get a marriage license during the pandemic.
Fae Rose on her wedding day May 3, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Fae Rose photo)
Fae Rose, of Evanston, had always planned to marry her high school sweetheart on the anniversary of the beginning of their relationship, May 3. The recent graduate of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said she wanted her wedding to take place in Evanston. But when it came to applying for a marriage license, the Cook County Clerk’s Office wasn’t issuing them, so Rose ended up having a livestreamed wedding on Facebook, officiated by her grandmother in Kenosha.
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“At the time, the office said they thought they’d have an online process up and running within a couple of weeks,” says Rose. “I tried calling back a few weeks later but couldn’t reach them at first. ... Out of desperation, I left messages to our congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky. One of her aides called me back and said, we’re sorry, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to have anything in place in Illinois at all. She said she talked to a couple of other people in desperate situations who need spousal privileges.”
Luckily, the clerk’s office for Kenosha County, Wisconsin, was still open. Rose said she had considered this a last resort.
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But the situation was urgent for Rose and her partner for health reasons. Rose is at a higher risk for the coronavirus because she has multiple sclerosis, and they wanted to be able to make medical decisions for each other in case of serious illness.
As of April 3, the Cook County Clerk’s Office has been offering virtual ceremonies to those “with an urgent need to marry,” according to its website.
John Mirkovic, deputy clerk of policy and communications, says the office has established a procedure to use video chat for emergency marriage licenses.
The office has limited resources to issue marriage licenses online, Mirkovic says, because it is still processing death and birth certificates, which already were backlogged before the pandemic, and most of its staff is out of the office.
He says the office also was already handling a large volume of requests for records from people applying for a Real ID, a more secure version of a driver’s license that would have become the standard for flying commercially on Oct. 1. (That deadline was extended a year because of the pandemic.)
“Because of the deadline, the office was already experiencing a surge of requests. With the pandemic, all the deadlines are getting pushed, and a lot of people don’t realize it, so we encourage research to know what they need,” he says.
Administering birth and death certificates takes longer than issuing marriage licenses. During the pandemic, birth and death certificates have become a bit more complicated because they require identity verification, multiple signatures, and they cannot be created or distributed electronically.
“It’s very difficult to provide records legally that are very paper-centric,” Mirkovic says.
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Before reaching out to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, Sean and David Williams completed the process for a marriage license in Manhattan, Kansas, where the couple initially planned to be married April 25. Obviously, they postponed that ceremony, but they still wanted to keep the original date, if possible, and to find a way to get married legally during the stay-at-home order.
David, left, and Sean Williams had their wedding ceremony officiated by the Rev. Lucas King of Hope United Church of Christ on April 25, 2020, in Kane County. (Sean and David Williams photo)
At the time, Cook County wasn’t issuing any marriage licenses at all, and the couple wasn’t sure any Illinois county would.
“We also wanted to be safe and not put people at risk,” says Sean. “I saw that Kane County was still issuing licenses. I have a friend out there who is a pastor and lives out in the country. And I asked if the three of us could have the ceremony at his house.”
On March 25, they were able to get an appointment the same day they called Kane County and arrived in record time with no traffic.
“It was all so easy, and it felt so simple, which was not what I expected,” says David. “I sort of expected during this pandemic that it would be disgruntled, but the service was very good.”
Kane County had a folder already prepared with all of the paperwork, what was needed from the officiant, and the time frame.
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“It was kind of funny to me,” says Sean. “On the one hand, I totally understand why they closed the (Cook County) office, and it’s not like a marriage license is life or death in most circumstances. And I guess now when it is life or death is when they are letting you do it. But it also was interesting to think about no marriage licenses in Cook County right now.”
Before even applying for a marriage license in Kane County, Sean says, he messaged Kane County’s sheriff’s office on Facebook to see if it was safe and legal to even hold the ceremony during the stay-at-home order. “I never really thought I’d have to consult with law enforcement before getting married,” he says.
David says that if they hadn’t had a friend who lived out in the country in a county that still issued marriage licenses, they might not have had the option to get married in Illinois. The couple even talked about driving to Wisconsin or Indiana.
“We’ve had this day forever, and in the last two or three months, it looked like this wouldn’t happen,” says David. “One week, we were getting our vendors together, and the next week we’re calling them saying we’ve postponed. It’s been a real whirlwind.”
You can check for updates at the Cook County Clerk’s Office website.
hgreenspan@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Potbelly warns it could close 100 stores as COVID-19 causes sales drop

The quarter had been looking good before that , with sales up 2.5 % for the first 10 weeks of @ @ @ @ @ company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than @ @ @ @ @ it ended the quarter down 10 % .

Potbelly is considering permanently closing 100 stores after sales tanked as stay-at-home orders took hold.
The Chicago-based sandwich chain, which had been in the midst of a turnaround when the coronavirus pandemic struck, saw sales at stores open at least 15 months drop 68% in March, the company said Tuesday in releasing its first-quarter earnings.
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The quarter had been looking good before that, with sales up 2.5% for the first 10 weeks of the year, and the company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than three years. Instead, it ended the quarter down 10%.
The company reported a first-quarter net loss of $13.3 million, as overall revenues fell 11% to $87.6 million.
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Potbelly came under fire when it was approved for $10 million in funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program meant for small businesses. Under pressure, it returned the money.
The company, which has about 470 restaurants, has slashed costs to try to weather the sales hit. It furloughed a third of its corporate employees, cut salaries for executives and corporate employees by 25% and temporarily closed 36 company-operated restaurants.
“Currently, we are having proactive conversations with our landlords, are considering closing up to 100 shops, and are continuously working to implement ways to work more effectively and efficiently,” CEO Alan Johnson said in a news release. "We have a firm grasp on what we can control within our business.”
Potbelly has been serving customers with curbside pickup and delivery and is selling pantry items and family meals. Investments in digital ordering that were part of its turnaround plan have helped drive an improvement in sales as the pandemic has worn on, the company said.
In March the company drew down $40 million of financing available under its revolving credit facility.
Potbelly, founded in 1977, has struggled in recent years as it fell behind the growing fast casual competition. Last year it announced a new franchise program and new store designs as part of a turnaround plan.


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Longtime Naperville couple die within a month of each other, both victims of COVID-19 complications

“ As the community relations manager , she brought to Loaves & Fishes the love of Naperville and all of @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` She was always upbeat , had a ready story about the Naperville @ @ @ @ @ she had optimism about the Naperville of the future for all of its residents .
@

Diane and Dalis Ramonas at the Loaves & Fishes gala event in 2017. The longtime Naperville couple, married for 35 years, died of coronavirus complications within a month of each other -- Dalis in March and Diane in April. (Loaves & Fishes)
Diane and Dalis Ramonas were active members of the Naperville community — she helped foster a relationship between the Naperville Woman’s Club and Loaves & Fishes Community Services and he was an avid skier and ski instructor who shared his passion with his two children.
They built a family life in Naperville, and witnessed the city’s growth from a small town to a bustling municipality.
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After a marriage of 35 years, they died within a month of each other — both victims of complications related to COVID-19.
Dalis Ramonas, 63, died March 28 at Edward Hospital in Naperville. His 61-year-old wife followed on April 30. She died at the couple’s most recent home in Aurora after battling with breast cancer for two years and then contracting the coronavirus, according to the obituary posted by the Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home in Naperville.
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The pair were married June 16, 1984, raised their daughter Alexandra and son Andrew in Naperville and served in various capacities in the community.
A 1976 graduate of Naperville Central High School, Diane Ramonas earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from North Central College. She held various accounting and bookkeeping jobs in and around Naperville and Vail, Colorado, her obituary said.
Diane Ramonas, right, stands with Sue Hanegraaf, left, and Wendy Piepho at the Santo Cielo restaurant in downtown Naperville in November 2019. (Sue Hanegraaf)
Most recently, she helped raise awareness about poverty and hunger in the area as the community relations manager for Loaves & Fishes Community Services in Naperville.
Having worked in and around Naperville most of her life, Diane was excited to be working for an organization that was such a support to the community she loved, said Mike Havala, Loaves & Fishes president and CEO.
“As the community relations manager, she brought to Loaves & Fishes the love of Naperville and all of its residents,” Havala said. "She was always upbeat, had a ready story about the Naperville of her youth, and she had optimism about the Naperville of the future for all of its residents.”
Diane was a fan of Door County, Wisconsin, and the supper clubs the state had to offer, her obituary said.
Dalis Ramonas was born in Chicago, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, according to his Friedrich-Jones obituary. He grew up on Chicago’s South Side and was a devoted fan of the Chicago White Sox.
Dalis started skiing at age 3 at Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports in Lisle. He later became a ski instructor at Four Lakes, his obituary said.
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He shared his love of the sport with his children, and was a competitive in ski racer. “Some of his favorite memories were ski instructing with his friends at Four Lakes,” his obituary said.
Dalis received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Most recently he worked as an engineering software account manager at Tata Technologies.
Diane was a “beloved” member of the Naperville Woman’s Club, member Sue Hanegraaf said.
“We gravitated somehow to each other. Diane and I always tended to sit together or save a seat for one another," Hanegraaf said. “We grew to become friends, and I thought the world of her. She was a very happy and beautiful woman.”
Diane’s smile was particularly memorable because of her dimples, she said.
Hanegraaf had been in touch with Diane recently, bringing a meal to her and her daughter a couple weeks ago, she said. After that was when she received what would be her final text message from Diane — a simple “thank you” with heart emojis.
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Diane Ramonas speaks during a Naperville Woman's Club meeting, flanked by fellow member Dawn Dau. (Sue Hanegraaf)
Naperville Woman’s Club board member Dawn Dau remembered Diane Ramonas as “somebody who wanted to give back to the community." Her ties to both the Woman’s Club and Loaves & Fishes demonstrated that.
“Naperville Woman’s Club has been very supportive of Loaves & Fishes. That relationship was actually fostered by Diane,” Dau said.
When Dau was a new chair of the organization’s philanthropy committee, Diane helped her learn the ropes, she said. “She definitely took me under her wing,” Dau said.
“My fondest memories of her are her really welcoming me into the Woman’s Club and mentoring me,” Dau said. “She was a great lady, and it’s sad because I got to only work with her for a short period of time.”
A memorial service is being planned for a future date. Both obituaries ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Loaves & Fishes Community Services in their names.
ehegarty@tribpub.com
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subaker@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-13--Half of black churchgoers say faith has been strengthened as pandemic devastated congregations. Here

Half of black churchgoers say faith has been strengthened as pandemic devastated congregations. Here’s how Chicago churches keep their spirit alive.

Even as the gap has shrunk in the past few weeks , in Chicago , African Americans account for nearly @ @ @ @ @ those who have tested positive and more than half of coronavirus-related fatalities , despite being @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s residents .
Latinos make up a little less than half for @ @ @ @ @ about a quarter of COVID-19-related deaths .

The Rev. Craig Robinson and his wife, associate pastor Dr. Shakira Sanchez-Collins, film their Sunday service at St. James AME Church in Chicago on May 7, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
He was scared and had good reason to be. He was over age 60. He had health issues. And the global COVID-19 death toll was mounting.
So, as the Rev. Walter Johnson Jr. lay in the hospital bed, isolated from his family for two weeks, the doubt began to creep in. Being infected with the novel coronavirus pushed a man who has been devoted to ministry since age 16 to question the very God he’s spent most of his life championing.
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“Lord, why me?” Johnson, the pastor at Greater Institutional AME Church, recalled asking as he lay in his hospital bed. “Why now?”
Johnson was one of the lucky ones and escaped Northwestern Memorial Hospital with his life. And somehow, the ordeal fortified his faith.
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A recent Pew Research study found that like Johnson, 1 in 4 Americans said the coronavirus pandemic has deepened their faith. Only 2% said the pandemic has weakened their faith. The study also found the trend of strengthened faith was more pronounced among black American adults. Forty-one percent of black adults said their faith is stronger, compared with 20% of white adults and 30% of Hispanic adults.
And 56% of people who attend historically black churches say their faith has intensified during the pandemic, higher than any other group.
Nichole Phillips, director of Black Church Studies at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, said the trend of stronger faith among black Americans is linked to the role the black church historically has played in the African American community.
The church has been a place of refuge and a fortress for black people against a hostile world, Phillips said.
“COVID-19 has caused crisis and trauma throughout the world, so it makes sense that black people would find an institution that provides the hope, the stability, as well as the understanding of the historic suffering Black folks have been through,” Phillips said.
The Rev. Craig Robinson of St. James AME Church in Chicago on May 7, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
It’s usually in the sanctuaries of black churches where the community’s religion and worship can be seen in all its majesty — with gospel choirs singing and spirited pastors preaching. The Rev. Craig Robinson Jr., pastor at St. James AME Church, 9256 S. Lafayette Ave. in the Princeton Park neighborhood, said his congregation’s ability to remain connected online when they can’t have that customary physical connection has strengthened his faith.
On a recent weekday, with the pews emptied, Robinson and his wife, the Rev. Dr. Shakira Sanchez-Collins, stood in the pulpit and recorded their sermon for the upcoming Sunday. Standing under studio lights and staring into an iPhone camera, they pieced together a service that would post online a few days later.
Their last service was viewed more than 1,700 times on Facebook, far exceeding the 500-seat capacity of the church.
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[ Church leaders push back on Lightfoot and Pritzker stay-at-home orders: ‘We have to stand up for ourselves at some point’ ]
Sanchez-Collins, the associate pastor at St. James, said she believes people are turning to their faith to cope with the devastating effects of the virus.
"It's a time where you can really feel hopeless, and I think the church is actually how people are getting through this," she said.
The surge in faith comes as the virus infects and kills black Americans at a disproportionately higher rate.
The Rev. Craig Robinson moves a cross in preparation for filming their Sunday service at St. James AME Church in Chicago on May 7, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Even as the gap has shrunk in the past few weeks, in Chicago, African Americans account for nearly more than a third of those who have tested positive and more than half of coronavirus-related fatalities, despite being less than a third of the city’s residents. Latinos make up a little less than half for 40% of infections and about a quarter of COVID-19-related deaths.
Darryl Person, the pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, 4501 S. Vincennes Ave. in the Bronzeville neighborhood, said his church is feeling the devastation of the virus firsthand.
Several members of his congregation have contracted COVID-19. Two weeks ago, Person buried a church member who died of coronavirus-related causes.
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During crisis moments, Person, 57, said he relies on his experience as a Navy combat chaplain to manage his faith.
“Having experienced the challenges of war ... I recognize my role is to shepherd my flock and to care for my people, and I’m motivated by that.”
And while Person said he is secure in his faith, he acknowledged the pandemic has been tough.
“Is it challenging? Absolutely," he said. "Is It difficult? No doubt about it. But you have to do it. This is my task.”
The enthusiasm that typically exists in black churches is now visible online, shifting from sanctuaries to people's homes.
Words of encouragement customarily shouted from the pews are now being typed online.
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"Amen!"
“Hallelujah.”
"Preach, preacher!!!"
“Alright, pastor!” someone commented during a service livestreamed on a recent Sunday.
Melanie Nero, who attends New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in East Garfield Park, said she regularly chimes in with a comment when watching services Sunday mornings.
Moved by the music, she can't resist cheering while the choir performs.
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"Alright, choir, y'all better sing!" she typed while watching an online service.
“It encourages and excites everyone, so they feel like we’re there together enjoying the experience,” Nero said about the communal participation online during religious services.
[ Lightfoot says city will ‘take action’ if defiant churches hold in-person services despite stay-at-home orders ]
Each Sunday, Nero and her family eat breakfast, then line up some chairs in front of the couch for her three children, and the family watches the service on television, she said. They also stream it on their tablets or phones so that they can be the “peanut gallery,” she said.
“It’s still an event,” Nero said. “We’re up, giving our full attention.”
Muriel Nelson-Godfrey, a member at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1252 S. Wolcott Ave. on the Near West Side, said she enjoys watching multiple church services on Sundays. She is standing firm in her beliefs and relying on Scripture, particularly Isaiah 54:17, which tells of the God of the Israelites keeping the faithful safe, to keep her grounded.
"He said no weapon formed against me shall prosper, so when he says that I know for a fact that the weapons will form, but they won't prosper."
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Johnson, who avoided becoming a casualty of COVID-19, understands the power of that Bible verse.
It’s been more than a week since he left the hospital, and he is still grateful.
As he spoke from the comfort of his home recently, he grew emotional as he recalled what could have been the end for him.
He admitted he questioned why God would let him, a man with kidney disease, catch the virus. But the moment was fleeting.
"God said, 'I got something for you to do,'" Johnson said as his voice cracked, and he began to weep.
"Thank you, Lord," he muttered.
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“Thank you.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-12--The latest from editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over Chicago during numerous performances over the last 20 years .

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chicagotribune--2020-05-14--Daywatch: Lakefront to remain closed, Wisconsin now without COVID-19 restrictions and Chicago braces

Daywatch: Lakefront to remain closed, Wisconsin now without COVID-19 restrictions and Chicago braces for Mexican beer shortage

Here come the Social Distancing Police .
They don ’ t carry badges , they don ’ t wear uniforms @ @ @ @ @ police officers , and no one is going to formally deputize them .
But they @ @ @ @ @ , mostly disgusted and , though it ’ s hard to see at times , @ @ @ @ @ the Tribune ’ s Christopher Borrelli writes .

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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Breaking coronavirus news Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
A paddleboarder makes his way along Lake Michigan just before the U.S. Navy Blue Angels perform a flyover of Chicago on May 12, 2020. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, but several industries are on track to expand their services or reopen when the city reaches the next phase of its reopening plan, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.
It’s unclear when the city’s lakefront might reopen. But in a virtual speech to the Economic Club of Chicago, Lightfoot warned that the next six to 12 months are likely to include managing new outbreaks, as has happened in Georgia, South Korea and Singapore, and said progress will continue to be slow.
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Breaking down the different types of COVID-19 tests — and why Illinois and the nation have struggled with mass testing amid the pandemic
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s geographical grouping in COVID-19 fight rankles many suburban officials
Motorists make their way around the Wisconsin State Capitol during a rally against Gov. Tony Evers' extended stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 in Madison, Wis., on April 24, 2020. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal /AP)
Conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Democratic Gov. Tony Evers months-long stay-at-home order in a ruling released Wednesday. The decision sided with the Republican leaders of the state legislature who argued the governor’s administration had overstepped its legal authority in extending Evers’ “safer-at-home” order until May 26.
A woman walks out of the City View Multi-Care Center in Cicero on April 28, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
There have been increasing complaints from the nursing home industry, consumer advocates and local officials over whether the state is doing all it can to limit deadly outbreaks in Illinois’ 1,200-plus long-term care facilities. The homes are tied to more than 1,500 coronavirus-related deaths of residents and workers — accounting for nearly half the deaths statewide.
Claire Ewing walks her dog, Sophie, Tuesday in La Grange. Ewing expressed frustration on the Nextdoor online platform about people ignoring social-distancing guidelines in her neighborhood and she got negative reactions. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Here come the Social Distancing Police. They don’t carry badges, they don’t wear uniforms. They are not actual police officers, and no one is going to formally deputize them. But they are watchful, and alarmed, mostly disgusted and, though it’s hard to see at times, idealistic. Even well-meaning, the Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli writes.
A cooler with a variety of Mexican beer is seen at Mi Tocaya Antojeria on April 20, 2017, in Chicago. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago beer drinkers could see a shortage of popular imported Mexican brands as soon as next week due to an ongoing shutdown of Mexico’s beer industry. Most immediately at risk are the brands owned by Heineken USA, including Dos Equis Tecate and Bohemia.