chicagotribune--2020-05-22--When can Illinois reopen? Check our daily charts on where each region stands.

The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of @ @ @ @ @ availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge @ @ @ @ @ for testing and tracing positive tests .

Chad Yoder, Nausheen Husain, Jennifer Smith Richards, Jonathon Berlin

With each of the state’s four regions in Phase 3 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, the clock starts on moving on to Phase 4, where more businesses and activities are allowed. The plan to reopen Illinois — from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital to concerts and festivals — depends on a host of metrics laid out by Pritzker.
The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of the outbreak as well as availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge. There are also benchmarks for testing and tracing positive tests.
[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
A key element of the plan is that a region can move both forward and backward, where more parts of society can open and shut depending on the seriousness of the outbreak.
Here is a breakdown of where each region stands.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--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--2020-05-22--Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,715 deaths, 105,444 confirmed cases, 697,133 tests,  34% ICU beds a

Tracking Illinois coronavirus: 4,715 deaths, 105,444 confirmed cases, 697,133 tests,  34% ICU beds and 70% 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--2020-05-22--Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Lake Michigan’s  'Playpen’ not opening this summer

At a news conference announcing the city ’ s likely move into phase 3 of its reopening plan early next @ @ @ @ @ lakefront eventually will reopen but wouldn ’ t give a date .
She also laid @ @ @ @ @ be allowed to open next month , including outdoor dining at restaurants and barbershops .

People on their boats in the "Playpen" area, between Ohio Street Beach and Oak Street Beach on Lake Michigan in Chicago, on Aug. 10, 2019. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s infamous Lake Michigan party spot the "Playpen” will not be opening this summer, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
At a news conference announcing the city’s likely move into phase 3 of its reopening plan early next month, Lightfoot said the lakefront eventually will reopen but wouldn’t give a date. She also laid out specific industries that will be allowed to open next month, including outdoor dining at restaurants and barbershops.
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But she cast doubt on a big party spot.
“Sorry folks the Playpen will not be open this summer,” Lightfoot said.
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gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Memorial Day observances will have a different look this year in the Chicago area. Here’s a list of

Memorial Day observances will have a different look this year in the Chicago area. Here’s a list of some of them.

Memorial Day will be taking on a different look this year because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The state ’ @ @ @ @ @ picnics and other large gatherings .
And parades and observances honoring the fallen have been @ @ @ @ @ In some cases towns , communities and organizations will hold virtual ceremonies or observances .
@ @ @ @ @ some activities that will take place on Monday or over the weekend .

American flags are posted during a Memorial Day ceremony at Rosehill Cemetery in Edgewater on May 27, 2019. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Memorial Day will be taking on a different look this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The state’s stay-at-home order will curtail picnics and other large gatherings. And parades and observances honoring the fallen have been canceled or scaled back. In some cases towns, communities and organizations will hold virtual ceremonies or observances. Here is a list of some activities that will take place on Monday or over the weekend.
Archdiocese of Chicago cemeteries
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All in-person Memorial Day Masses at Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic cemeteries have been canceled because of COVID-19. But masses will be broadcast online in English, Spanish and Polish at 8:30 a.m. Monday, according to a news release from the archdiocese. The Masses will be shown at www.CatholicCemeteriesChicago.org.
Chicago
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The Wellington-Oakdale Old Glory Marching Society’s (WOOGMS) Marchers’ Memorial Day Parade in the Lakeview community is canceled this year. It will go virtual in a livestream at 11 a.m. and feature a video of neighborhood kids raising the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. It also will include video greetings from politicians.
DuPage County
DuPage County has created an online Memorial Day tribute site, which allows people to add a post honoring a family member or friend.
Arlington Heights
Arlington Heights’ usual in-person Memorial Day ceremony includes the reading of names of people from the village who have died in war. The village produced an online version of the ceremony that’s available on YouTube.
Elmhurst
Memorial Day will be commemorated with a convoy instead of the traditional parade. Starting at 10 a.m. Monday, a convoy of 15 to 20 police, fire and military vehicles will leave Elmhurst American Legion THB Post 187 on Butterfield Road at Spring Road.
The route will cover 16 miles and is designed to pass within a quarter-mile walk of every home, city officials said.
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Frankfort
Officials plan to record a video later this week of the village’s traditional Memorial Day observance, which will be posted to the village website Monday, according to Mayor Jim Holland. It was also be available on YouTube.
Homewood
As an alternative to its annual Memorial Day parade, the village will post to its website interviews Mayor Rich Hofeld has previously conducted with military veterans from the village.
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Matteson
With the village’s annual parade canceled, Jim Hogan, commander of the William Martin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 725, is planning to read the names of the war dead for a video that will be shown on the village’s community access cable channel.
Orland Park
A ceremony will be held at Ara Pace, or “Place of Peace,” memorial outside of Village Hall, but the public is being asked not to attend. A wreath laying and the playing of taps by a bugler will be part of the observance that will include the reading of the names of eight military veterans whose names are being added to the memorial, according to village spokeswoman Nabeha Zegar.
She said that “extreme accommodations” are being made to keep participants socially distant. The event will be livestreamed on the village’s YouTube channel and shown later on the village social media sites.
St. Charles
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Memorial Day ceremonies and parade will not be held, according to a news release from the city. St. Charles Mayor Raymond Rogina will have a special video message to memorialize those who have given their lives in service to our country. The video will be available on the city’s website (www.stcharlesil.gov) and YouTube channel.
Tinley Park
The public is not invited to the village’s Memorial Day ceremony, which will start at 10 a.m. at the Gen. Patrick Rea Veterans Plaza. It will include the traditional aspects of the observance including the posting of colors and speeches.
The public can watch a livestream of the event on Facebook, and later on the village’s YouTube channel.
Check back for updates.
Mike Nolan of the Daily Southtown and Kimberly Fornek of Pioneer Press contributed.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--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--2020-05-22--‘Empire’ actor Bryshere Gray accused of clogging West Loop condo’s toilets with condoms, letting his

‘Empire’ actor Bryshere Gray accused of clogging West Loop condo’s toilets with condoms, letting his dog pee indoors

The landlords say Gray , 26 , caused issues almost as soon as he signed a lease for the West @ @ @ @ @ .
They accused him of smoking marijuana the week he moved in , though smoking @ @ @ @ @ lease agreement .
They say he engaged in “ unsanitary activity , ” such as @ @ @ @ @ bathroom and letting garbage pile up .
They say his dog , Prince , was @ @ @ @ @ relieved himself in the condo and the spaces shared by other residents of the complex @

“Empire” actor Bryshere Gray was a “nuisance tenant” who clogged toilets with condoms and let his dog relieve himself indoors, according to a lawsuit filed last month by his Chicago landlords.
Vinod Venugopal and Payal Shah are suing Gray for $33,120 that includes $26,120 to remove and install new hardwood floors, fix damage to stairs and apply paint, among other repairs; and $7,000 for legal fees. TMZ first reported the suit, which was filed on April 20. A representative for Gray declined to comment.
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“We extensively attempted to negotiate with Mr. Gray’s attorney and our requests, albeit very reasonable in light of the circumstances, fell on deaf ears. And our clients are just requesting to be made whole, based on the damage that was caused to the unit,” said Michael Donis, a managing partner of Ferrentino, Donis & Associates, the firm handling the landlords’ case.
Bryshere Gray poses for photographers on the red carpet for the screening of the Season 3 premiere of "Empire" at the Harris Theater on Sept. 20, 2016. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)
Donis said Friday he anticipates amending the lawsuit because “there’s, unbelievably, even more damage that we were able to uncover once our clients were able to enter the unit more recently, after the complaint was filed.”
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The landlords say Gray, 26, caused issues almost as soon as he signed a lease for the West Loop condo in August 2019. They accused him of smoking marijuana the week he moved in, though smoking is not allowed under the lease agreement. They say he engaged in “unsanitary activity,” such as allegedly eating breakfast in a bathroom and letting garbage pile up. They say his dog, Prince, was left unsupervised for hours and relieved himself in the condo and the spaces shared by other residents of the complex.
Gray — who played Hakeem Lyon on Fox’s hip-hop drama “Empire,” which ended its six-season run in April — is accused of causing damage to a window that he allegedly climbed in and out of to access the unit. His monthly rent was $4,650, according to a lease agreement set to end May 31. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo was listed last year for $949,900, but it doesn’t appear to be on the market now.
Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard also starred on “Empire,” which filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios on the West Side. The cast and crew wrapped the final season in March, earlier than planned, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is not Gray’s first legal fight with a Chicago landlord. The “Canal Street” actor was accused of owing $5,880 for a Logan Square rental last year. That Cook County suit was later dropped.
tswartz@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rejects President Donald Trump call to open churches

“ By no means can the president order any locality , any state , to do something that he doesn @ @ @ @ @ to do , ” she said .
“ And he can ’ t do that @ @ @ @ @ me it ’ s just another thing that he said .
The media pays attention @ @ @ @ @ ’ re going to be guided by the science and the data .
We are @ @ @ @ @ do something so he can fulfill a campaign promise that sets people ’ s lives @ @ @ @

John Byrne, Bill Ruthhart, Robert McCoppin, Deanese Williams-Harris

Dozens gather outside Holy Name Cathedral on May 1, 2020, to pray for churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago to reopen. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday deemed President Donald Trump’s call for the reopening of churches across the country this weekend “dangerous and foolish,” saying he’s “pandering to a base” while running for reelection and has no power to override local officials’ steps to stop people from congregating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lightfoot’s comments came after Trump on Friday said churches are essential and governors should open them this weekend.
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“I think we have to realize that virtually everything he says has a political undertone and basis for it,” Lightfoot said. “Look, we are working with our faith community, just like we’re working with businesses to set up very specific guidelines to help them to be able to reopen safely.”
The mayor noted Trump has had to “walk back” various proclamations he has made during the coronavirus crisis or seen his assertions “get undercut by people who are wiser than him on some of these issues.”
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“He has said so many dangerous and foolish things. Add this to the list,” Lightfoot said.
Still, with some Chicago churches already holding services last weekend in spite of a statewide order that they not do so, it remains to be seen whether the president’s stance prompts more faith leaders and their congregations to flout Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order this weekend.
Lightfoot in recent days has toughened her stance against churches in Chicago hosting religious services.
After Lightfoot said for weeks that she wanted to educate people about the dangers of congregating in churches rather than taking more punitive steps, Chicago police fined three houses of worship $500 each after they held services last weekend.
Pritzker on Friday wasn’t as strident as Lightfoot in his rejection of the president’s idea, but he did not seem inclined to follow Trump’s call for churches to be allowed to resume services.
“We’re going to continue to operate on the basis of science and data,” Pritzker said. “I’m as anxious as anybody to make sure that our churches or mosques or synagogues open back to where they were before COVID-19 came along."
"We’re gradually moving in that direction, but there’s no doubt, the most important thing is we do not want parishioners to get ill because their faith leaders bring them together. We hope that faith leaders will continued to do what the vast majority have done, which is to worship sometimes online, sometimes in other capacities, as we’ve talked about outdoor and drive-in.”
At a hastily arranged Friday news conference at the White House, Trump said it’s time to get back to worshipping inside.
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“Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services," Trump said. If governors don’t abide by his request, Trump said he’ll override them.
The president took issue with other types of businesses being allowed to continue to operate during the virus outbreak.
“Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential,” but not churches, Trump said. “It’s not right. So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential."
“These are places that hold our society together and keep our people united,” he said.
Locally, some churches are already chafing at the rules.
Two Romanian churches in the Chicago area filed opening briefs in court Friday in their appeal of a decision on a federal lawsuit they filed challenging the state stay-at-home order.
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Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Albany Park and Logos Baptist Ministries in Niles challenged Pritzker’s executive order limiting worship services to no more than 10 people, noting there are no such restrictions on businesses deemed “essential” such as liquor stores, marijuana shops and big box stores.
A judge earlier this month rejected a bid by the churches to hold services, blasting the request for a preliminary injunction as “both ill-founded and selfish.”
Liberty Counsel, which represents the churches, criticized “bullying tactics” by Lightfoot, including parking bans and towing outside churches, and sending letters to area residents blaming the churches for the measures.
“Many people died for our freedom to keep us from a communist society,” Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a news release. “Now we are defending those pastors and churchgoers who came from communist Romania so they may continue to enjoy that priceless freedom for which so many fought and died, and to pass it on to future generations.”
Chicago businessman and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, who has clashed with Lightfoot about his offers to donate and sell protective masks in the city during the coronavirus outbreak, applauded Trump on Friday for “protecting the First Amendment rights of all citizens” by arguing churches are essential. “I thank God for placing this important issue on the heart of President Trump,” Wilson said in a statement.
But others are hewing to the local rules. Pastor Theodore Matthews of Empowerment Church in Bellwood said Friday after Trump’s announcement that his church will take a “phased-in approach” to reopening the church for worship.
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“We are leaning more toward what the governor and science believes about the pandemic,” Matthews said. “It is a very stressful time for all of us. We are all worried about our families and personal health, so the last thing we want is a stressful worship when we open. We want people to feel safe.”
Lightfoot said Trump can’t rescind in-person rules set by local officials for houses of worship.
“By no means can the president order any locality, any state, to do something that he doesn’t have the power to do,” she said. “And he can’t do that here, so, to me it’s just another thing that he said. The media pays attention to it. But we’re going to be guided by the science and the data. We are not going to rush to do something so he can fulfill a campaign promise that sets people’s lives at risk.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had prepared reopening guidelines for churches and other houses of worship weeks ago, but the White House had refused to release them until Thursday when Trump abruptly changed course.
“I said ‘You better put it out.’ And they’re doing it,” Trump said Thursday at a Ford Motor Co. plant repurposed to make ventilators in Michigan. “And they’re going to be issuing something today or tomorrow on churches. We got to get our churches open.”
The Associated Press contributed.
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jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
bruthhart@chicagotribune.com
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Watch live: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and health officials provide update on 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 updates here .
Get the latest coronavirus updates here .

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chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Legislators OK bill that gives ‘essential’ workers stricken with COVID-19 better access to worker’s

Legislators OK bill that gives ‘essential’ workers stricken with COVID-19 better access to worker’s compensation

State Rep. Karina Villa , D-West Chicago , donned a thin translucent mask over her face as she discussed an @ @ @ @ @ such a mask would offer protection from COVID-19 during debate at the spring legislative session @ @ @ @ @ Center , May 22 , 2020 .
`` I hope that our vote today reflects @ @ @ @ @ those employers know that this is absolutely unacceptable in the state of Illinois , '' @ @ @ @ @ Schurter/The State Journal-Register )

State Rep. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, donned a thin translucent mask over her face as she discussed an unnamed employer that told workers such a mask would offer protection from COVID-19 during debate at the spring legislative session at the Bank of Springfield Center, May 22, 2020. "I hope that our vote today reflects an unanimous vote, letting those employers know that this is absolutely unacceptable in the state of Illinois," she said. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register)
Springfield — In a bipartisan effort aimed at helping workers who become infected with COVID-19, the Illinois House on Friday overwhelmingly approved a measure that would increase access to worker’s compensation benefits.
The House voted 113-2 in favor of the legislation, which reflects a deal agreed to by organized labor and business groups. The bill workers considered “essential” under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order who contract the new coronavirus to qualify for worker’s compensation benefits with the assumption that the virus was contracted on the job.
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Employers could contest the claims by showing evidence an employee contracted the virus somewhere other than the workplace or that the employer was following state and federal public health guidelines.
“If you’re doing the right thing, that presumption would be rebutted,” Democratic Rep. Jay Hoffman said Friday of the presumption the virus was contracted on the job.
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The Senate approved the bill Thursday, and it now goes to Pritzker.
Workers whose jobs require them to come into contact with the public or work in a location with more than 15 employees would qualify, and the agreement requires anyone diagnosed after June 15 to test positive for COVID-19.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission approved a similar emergency rule last month, but withdrew it after it was blocked by a Sangamon County judge in response to a lawsuit filed by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
“Today’s agreement strikes a fair balance, allowing employers to defend themselves using an ordinary standard of evidence,” Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said in a statement following the House vote. “Illinois businesses can rebut the presumption simply by showing ‘some evidence’ that they complied with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control or Illinois Department of Public Health."
jmunks@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Memorial Day observances will be different this year but won’t diminish the meaning of the holiday

Due to the coronavirus pandemic , this year the holiday will be a lot quieter for Stack , the father @ @ @ @ @ Stack , who was 20 when he died Nov. 10 , 2010 , in Afghanistan @ @ @ @ @ parade or ceremony , but Stack and others can tune in to a video already @ @ @ @ @ recordings of speakers , video clips of last year ’ s service and a reading @ @ @ @ @ village ’ s 58 veterans who were killed in combat .

Robert Stack usually spends part of Memorial Day clanging a weathered 3-foot-tall bell each time the name of a fallen member of the military is read aloud during a ceremony in Arlington Heights after the village’s annual parade.
“In a very personal way, it reminds me of how grateful I am for those who have died in the service of our military,” Stack said about the tradition. “It’s a reminder ... that freedom isn’t free — that it’s bought and paid for by the blood of others who defended our freedom in the arena of war.”
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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year the holiday will be a lot quieter for Stack, the father of Marine Lance Corp. James Stack, who was 20 when he died Nov. 10, 2010, in Afghanistan. There will be no parade or ceremony, but Stack and others can tune in to a video already posted on YouTube that includes recordings of speakers, video clips of last year’s service and a reading of the names of the village’s 58 veterans who were killed in combat.
Marine Lance Cpl. James Bray Stack, who died Nov. 10, 2010, in Afghanistan. (Stack family photo)
Stack said he is slightly disappointed he won’t be able to bond with the community in-person this year. He has always valued the ceremony as a tribute to his neighbors’ and his son’s sacrifices for the country. But the pandemic has taught him how to adapt. A science teacher at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Stack said he is already learning to appreciate the power of virtual connection through his students.
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“It would have been great of course if we could somehow meet, but it’s the next best thing,” Stack said. “It’s going to be wonderful.”
Across the Chicago area, most Memorial Day observances also are canceled, although some are being converted to virtual celebrations in order to continue decadeslong traditions while staying safe from the coronavirus. It’s not ideal, but military veterans and families of the fallen are grateful their communities have come up with creative solutions during the pandemic to mark the meaning of the day.
Many Memorial Day recreational and social activities will be altered or postponed because of the virus. Chicago’s lakefront-adjacent public spaces, The 606 trail and other swaths of parks are shut down under an executive order from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, while the Cook County Forest Preserves are closed for picnics, barbecues and other gatherings. Picnics at other locations will be subjected to social distancing and crowd limits.
Chicago’s Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony and downtown parade, which were to be held Saturday, have been canceled.
The crowd of hundreds of observers and participants who normally gather at Rosehill Cemetery on the North Side for the annual Memorial Day parade and ceremony won’t be present this year.
Kelly Zebell, from left, Ray Doeksen and Charles Henderson at the American Legion Tattler Post #973 in Chicago on May 21, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Instead the American Legion Tattler Post 973, which is in charge of the Rosehill Cemetery parade, is hoping families will watch a livestream of its socially distanced ceremony from their homes, according to trustee Ray Doeksen.
Doeksen, an Army veteran of the Iraq War, said fewer than 10 people from his organization will gather at a member’s yard on the Northwest Side for a flag and wreathing ceremony. A car caravan with other members, their families and supporters will roll past the house.
The chapter’s 213 members, some of whom were unable to make it to past ceremonies due to mobility issues, will have greater access to this year’s ceremony now that it will be online, Doeksen believes.
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Normally, Doeksen said, clusters of people would gather from the parade’s start in Andersonville to the cemetery hillside for a roll call, speeches and wreath laying.
“That kind of thing just would not be wise to do this year,” he said.
Doeksen isn’t daunted by the change. He said his group is used to adapting in times of crisis.
“We military veterans want to persevere through hardship,” Doeksen said. “I want this year’s ceremony to mean what every Memorial Day has meant for them — its remembrance of those that fell before us. This year, it’s going to be conducted differently but the holiday, the commemoration, that’s going to be the same.”
Cemeteries are popular destinations on Memorial Day, and many have come up with new ways to commemorate the holiday this year.
In-person mass ceremonies at the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago are called off. But virtual masses, recorded in English, Spanish and Polish, will be streaming at 8:30 a.m. Cemetery grounds will be open for viewing from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Memorial Day, under social distancing guidelines.
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At each Veterans Affairs national cemetery, including Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony followed by a moment of silence and the playing of taps.
Though the VA cemeteries themselves will be open to the public, the ceremonies will not. They will be streamed on Facebook and Twitter by the National Cemetery Administration.
Other traditional Memorial Day events, such as the group placement of flags at grave sites, will not take place this year.
Officials are urging families to consider visiting over the weekend in an effort to avoid large crowds come Monday.
Dignity Memorial, which operates 18 cemeteries in the Chicago area, was still working to finalize plans for an online Memorial Day service, according to a spokesman.
On a typical Memorial Day, the number of visitors can range from dozens to a couple hundred, with sometimes 500 people or more visiting older cemeteries such as Rosehill and Oak Woods.
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All of Dignity’s cemeteries and memorial parks will be open for visitation groups of 10 people or fewer, and all visitors will be required to wear proper face coverings.
Organizers of other Memorial Day events also are adapting to the times.
In Chicago’s Lakeview community, the Wellington-Oakdale Old Glory Marching Society’s (WOOGMS) Marchers’ Memorial Day Parade is canceled this year. It will go virtual in a livestream at 11 a.m. and include a video of neighborhood kids raising the American flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and video greetings from politicians. Viewers will be encouraged to march at home as a way to join in.
Elmhurst’s parade is canceled this year and will be replaced by a convoy of 15 to 20 police, fire and military vehicles at 10 a.m. They will travel 16 miles and pass within a quarter-mile of each home. Resident are encouraged to watch at safe distances apart on the sidewalks and display the American flag colors.
But regardless of how the day is observed, the purpose of the holiday is what carries the most importance to people such as Robert Stack, the father of the fallen Marine.
His loss taught him to fully appreciate the sacrifices of the military, he said. James Stack became a Marine at 18 and was deployed in 2010 at the age of 20 as a rifleman assigned to the “Dark Horse,” 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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Six weeks later, he was killed in action in Afghanistan’s Sangin Valley, Helmand province, by hostile small-arms fire. He left behind a wife, Katie Stack, and a 1-year-old daughter, Mikayla.
Robert Stack said his son was remembered as a cheerful but intrepid Marine. He was about 10 when the twin towers fell, and Stack said his son had asked him, “What does all this mean?”
“I think we’re going to go to war over this,” Stack replied.
Less than decade later, Stack’s son did serve in that war. And even during his last moments, his comrades remember him leading the squad and showing no fear. Now, Stack no longer sees Memorial Day as just another holiday to cap off a three-day weekend.
“The loss of my son taught me — it was a wake-up call for me — how selfish I was,” Stack said. “James was motivated by service to country and he saw the opportunity to be something bigger than himself.”
Pioneer Press’ Kimberly Fornek contributed.
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ssherry@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Lightfoot says decision on Lollapalooza music festival expected next week

The coronavirus pandemic has upended most plans for the foreseeable future , though officials are starting to ease up rules @ @ @ @ @ on by the COVID-19 pandemic have led officials across the world to cancel or delay @ @ @ @ @ , from athletics to the arts .

In this file photo, attendees dance at Perry’s Stage during the last day of the 2019 Lollapalooza Music Festival in Grant Park on Aug., 4, 2019, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tri / Chicago Tribune)
The city of Chicago will make an announcement next week about the Lollapalooza music festival, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
The mayor again was asked about the popular summer festival during a news conference on Friday and said a decision would be announced sometime next week. Last month, Lightfoot said it’s too soon to talk about July and August events.
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But she has canceled events that were planned for May and June, including the Chicago Gospel Musical Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival. Lollapalooza is scheduled for July 30-Aug. 2 in downtown’s Grant Park.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended most plans for the foreseeable future, though officials are starting to ease up rules. Social distancing requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have led officials across the world to cancel or delay all sorts of public events, from athletics to the arts.
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Trying to limit the outbreak, Lightfoot has closed the city’s lakefront, The 606 elevated trail and the Chicago Riverwalk after widespread flouting of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. The mayor also has set a curfew order on all liquor sales across Chicago, banning sales after 9 p.m.
Lollapalooza could be the latest large-scale event to be canceled.
On Friday, Lightfoot said the city could soon ease restrictions on certain businesses but people won’t be allowed to gather in groups of 10.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--What reopening Chicago area restaurants will look like

“ Other kinds of weird conditional things are , what does game teaching look like ?
What does service look @ @ @ @ @ masks ?
Do we have to turn the music down a little bit ?
Communication @ @ @ @ @ little tougher , ” said McKay .
“ And with having a library we ’ @ @ @ @ @ UV treatment on all of our shared games .
When we open up we won @ @ @ @ @ same game out during the same service so if something has been touched , it @ @ @ @ @

The whole picture of what dining across the Chicago area will look like next remains unclear. After two days of confusing announcements, about when bars and restaurants can reopen outdoor seating in the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot made clear on Friday that dining out will have to wait until early June. Guidelines will be released next week for Chicago restaurants and coffee shops to reopen outdoor dining. Bars and lounges, however, will remain closed for now.
While Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Wednesday that bars and restaurants in Illinois can reopen outdoor seating on May 29, Lightfoot said the next day, effectively, not so fast. The mayor did not declare a reopening date at the coronavirus press conference on Friday.
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With no rules or regulations, restaurant owners, workers and would-be diners are still left wondering.
In the past few weeks, we talked to the chefs and owners of six local businesses, plus a Chicago chef working to open a new place in Las Vegas, about how establishments might look and sound across the city, suburbs and beyond. Most are desperately waiting until June 26, the earliest possible date they can resume indoor service, according to the statewide five-phase plan.
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Masks were mentioned by all, but no mannequins, as planned by The Inn at Little Washington restaurant in Virginia, which will fill some tables with the faux customers to help maintain social distancing with a bit of whimsy. Instead, Chicago restaurants are spacing tables, and removing some; focusing on sanitation, including ultraviolet treatments; considering bookshelves, acrylic screens and tall hedges outdoors between tables; and stopping or changing how they share free samples.
Gibsons Restaurant Group
“Restaurants are some of the cleanest places to do business and to eat,” said Steve Lombardo III, chairman and general counsel at the Gibsons Restaurant Group. “Our employees are required by law to take mandatory educational classes on food safety and sanitation.”
The flagship Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse in the Gold Coast has remained open for takeout and delivery, along with a total of seven restaurants in the group in the Chicago area.
“That being said, we’ve gone back and reevaluated and augmented our sanitation and hygiene policy in order to make the customer feel comfortable and to make sure that we’re doing everything not just up to and including the CDC guidelines, but above and beyond,” said Lombardo. “We’re looking into Plexiglas dividers between booths to get physical separation between diners.”
“When it comes to outside, and this is not just true of Gibsons on Rush, but all of our places, we’re talking with our local leaders about what can be done to increase the amount of outdoor space,” he added. “That seems to be some of the safest places you can be.”
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Even being outside, you still have to work with the social distancing of tables and customers, said John Colletti, managing partner at the Gibsons group.
“We’ve been doing carryout for over two months,” said Colletti. “The level of sanitation we’ve been dealing with — with the checklists, the masks and the temperature checks — are unbelievable. We’re not patting ourselves on the back, don’t get me wrong.”
“We’re working at a level that I think some hospitals would like to be at, to be honest with you,” said Colletti.
Chicago Board Game Cafe
“The safety of our staff and our guests is at the front of the line,” said Aaron McKay, executive chef and chief operating officer at Chicago Board Game Cafe.
Cards Against Humanity co-founder Max Temkin opened the restaurant and entertainment space in Logan Square shortly before on-premises service was shut down statewide. The cafe offers globally inspired dinners and games from their library for pickup and delivery, which includes a lesson from their game master teachers.
The escape rooms in the basement, by The House Theatre of Chicago, are on hiatus.
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“There’s been a lot of conditional thinking that’s really important in strategy games,” said McKay. “Like if I do this and this, and you do that and that, then what are the best possible outcomes?”
“We modeled for if we can only serve 50% of our capacity,” he added. “We’ve looked at different operating hours, spreading out reservations a little bit more. We looked at removing half of the tables from our dining room. We’ve talked about if that’s a better strategy, or taking every other table offline for the first seating and then switching so nobody sits at a table that’s been flipped for service.”
“Other kinds of weird conditional things are, what does game teaching look like? What does service look like if we are wearing masks? Do we have to turn the music down a little bit? Communication is going to become a little tougher,” said McKay. “And with having a library we’ve already had to institute UV treatment on all of our shared games. When we open up we won’t be sending the same game out during the same service so if something has been touched, it can be sanitized.”
“It’s really nice to have folks with that strategy game kind of mindset and skills on the team to help us work our way through so many possibilities of what could happen,” he added.
Lao Sze Chuan
“When we reopen, first of all we must follow government rules,” said Tony Hu, chef and founder of the Lao Sze Chuan restaurants and chairman of the U.S.-China Restaurant Alliance. The restaurants have stayed open for takeout and delivery in Chicago and the suburbs, while providing free Sichuanese and Chinese-American meals to first responders.
“We will take some tables away for sure,” said Hu by phone. “We will keep the distance. I want the staff to wear masks and hats for serving.”
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At the Lao Sze Chuan location on Michigan Avenue, he plans to screen people at the front desk. “Every day when people come to the restaurant, no matter customers or staff, they have to take a temperature, that’s very important,” Hu said..
“Most of the restaurants in China have reopened for dining,” said Hu, who remains in close contact with his Chinese restaurant colleagues worldwide. “Some have changed to sell low-priced ingredients so customers can go to the restaurants to shop for vegetables. Some have teamed up with a supermarket to sell premade food.”
An increasing number of Chicago area restaurants are also selling groceries.
Hu had planned to open a location of the Chinese hot pot restaurant Xiaolongkan in the former Won Kow space, once the oldest restaurant in Chinatown. Those plans are on hold. “Everything has stopped because of the pandemic,” he said.
The Goddess and Grocer
“I’m actually thinking of putting up bookshelves — I think they’re called etageres — tall, see-through bookshelves, but we’re going to put stuff on them, between tables,” said Debbie Sharpe, owner of The Goddess and Grocer restaurants, which have been open for takeout and delivery with deli food, including soup, salads and sandwiches. “We’ll lose quite a few tables, but we thought that would give people a little bit of intimate, worry-free dining space.”
Sharpe is also the chef behind The Goddess Rocks, which provides catering and crafts services to performers at concerts. “Unfortunately, we will not have any shows until 2021, I don’t think,” she said. “All our summer shows have been canceled.”
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The chef cooked for Teatro ZinZanni, the cabaret circus dinner theater show at the Cambria Hotel too. “We are dark,” said Sharpe. “I don’t think theater will open until maybe September or October. We have started plans on how we’re going to thin the crowds there. We’re going to have to remove every second table, but we’ve done it in a way you couldn’t tell.”
She was excited, but confused about how exactly the new state outdoor seating announcement would work, before the city put the plan on hold. “My outdoor dining at Bucktown is upstairs so you have to go through the main dining room to the outdoor dining,” she said. “We might have to create a path through and take away all the tables and chairs in the dining room.”
Sidewalk cafes are a different story. “The city is going to have to help us, because we’re going to have to take away some of the fencing, so people don’t have to go past people. They have to go directly to their seats,” said Sharpe. “But the city likes you to have a 3-foot entrance. It’s all closed off. The city is going to have to do something different.”
Meanwhile, she’s still planning. “I’m looking to find hedges,” she said. “I would love to put tall hedges up or trellises with vines on them between tables with flower boxes.”
Carnitas Uruapan
“We’re still going to pass out free food samples, but everything’s going to be individually packaged and sealed,” said Marcos Carbajal, second-generation owner of the Carnitas Uruapan restaurants, open for takeout and delivery. His father, Inocencio Carbajal, founded the original restaurant 45 years ago in Pilsen. They added a second location in Gage Park last year, which earned a three star review. “We’ll come around and you can grab your own sample off a tray with no contact.”
Diners often waited 45 minutes outside for pork carnitas, the signature dish from the Michoacan region of western Mexico, said Marcos Carbajal. “My dad and I would go out there while people were waiting to pass out food, like mini tacos dorados or samples of chicharron, to give people something to nibble on. It’s become something we’re known for. People joke, ‘I get to the front of the line to order my food and I’ve already had half a meal while I’m just waiting.’”
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“We’re not going to put mannequins around like the one restaurant is doing in Washington, but we will take out half the tables,” added Carbajal, laughing. That’s at the location in Gage Park on 55th Street.
He has different plans for Pilsen. “At our restaurant at 18th Street, our original, that’s the one that keeps me up at night,” said Carbajal. “That restaurant only has 10 tables. It had servers. It had hosts out on the street taking names, because it was packed to the brim. We can’t do that anymore.”
“We are going to take all the tables out and it’s going to be a takeout-only location,” he added. “For the first time in 45 years, people are not going to be able to sit down and eat there.”
“One of the things that people love at that place doesn’t work anymore,” said Carbajal. “As we brought out food to refill the line, we would walk in between the crowds with a giant tray of chicharrones crackling above their heads, or a giant tray of carnitas. People see and smell and hear that food.”
“I’m scared of our restaurants just becoming transactional,” he added.
He’s planning partitions, but not too many. “I don’t want to clutter my restaurant with a bunch of acrylic screens,” said Carbajal. “I don’t think people are going to rush back to be eating in that kind of environment, because it just reminds you that ‘oh I’m out while it’s potentially unsafe to be dining at restaurants’ or when there’s a threat. I think it almost makes it worse.”
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“That’s the big concern,” he said. “What will people’s behavior really be like? I suspect it’s going to be a really long time before people feel confident. You’ve got to earn their confidence. You’ve got to show people that you’re being prudent and careful.”
Chicago Athletic Association
“Currently, we are planning on opening in early July,” said Patrick Hatton, area managing director at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel.
Its notable bars and restaurants have been temporarily closed, including Cindy’s, with its spectacular rooftop patio overlooking The Bean and Millennium Park. The CAA hotel, part of a collection within Hyatt, will follow safety guidelines set by the hotel brand, Hatton said via email. “We will open our restaurants and bars in phases, following the local and state mandates for occupancy and gathering size.”
“Initially, we will reserve the Milk Room for private events only,” he said of the tiny cocktail bar. “With a capacity of eight with social distancing, our most exclusive space will be available for an intimate tasting event. Likewise, with its high-backed Horween leather booths, the Cherry Circle Room naturally creates intimate dining experiences.”
If you’re looking for more space, they’re planning a highly unusual setting. “Since we anticipate large gatherings will be restricted for some time, we are also exploring creating once-in-a-lifetime intimate dining experiences in our White City Ballroom,” said Hatton. He imagines a host calling, “Jones, party of two, your ballroom is ready.”
Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse
“I was recently the winner of ‘Vegas Chef Prizefight’ on Food Network,” said chef Lamar Moore, previously at The Swill Inn and Currency Exchange Cafe, both in Chicago. “The prize was to be executive chef of a new $10.5 million renovated restaurant called Bugsy & Meyer’s in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Flamingo Hotel.”
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Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman drew heavy fire for offering the city as a control group for reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“The status of the restaurant is on hold,” Moore said of the vintage mobster-themed establishment. “Construction is still to be determined because of the virus. Staff was already hired. Chefs were in place. Menus were done. We’re just waiting on the green light to finish the construction, then figure out the actual opening date.”
The original date was May 1.
For now, Moore has partnered with the José Andrés nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen and The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group at Roots Pizza to cook meals for local hospitals.
He has also thought a lot about how chefs and restaurants will look in Chicago and beyond. “I’ve been thinking about heat-seeking cameras being able to take temperatures once people walk in the door,” said Moore.
His new restaurant will be located in a hotel with a casino, where surveillance cameras are expected. “The bar is going to be very different,” he added. “There may be a glass set up, like we’re seeing at grocery stores, to set apart the bartender from the guests. At the bar you won’t be able to sit next to each other. It’ll be one person at every other seat.” He thinks open kitchens will go away, with kitchen staff behind glass walls.
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“I think there’s going to be less table conversation and more mobile ordering,” said Moore. “We’re used to booking tables of 10 to 15. Now it’s going to go away.”
While Illinois bars and restaurants prepare for outdoor seating to reopen, his thoughts extend to winter. “In Chicago, when it gets cold, we always have a waiting area for dining in, and I think that’s going to go away too.”


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--No injuries in minor chemical spill at Argonne National Lab

The chemical had been brought into the lab , which is largely devoid of employees due to COVID-19 , by @ @ @ @ @ wasn ’ t labeled , he said .
The lab was working to determine what @ @ @ @ @ said .

Nobody was injured in a minor chemical spill Friday in a room near Argonne National Lab's Advance Photon Source. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
A vial of an unknown chemical broke open during a routine cleaning procedure Friday at Argonne National Laboratory near Lemont, but nobody was injured as a result of the spill, according to a spokesman.
Two Argonne employees, a firefighter and waste management services worker, were picking up the vial during a routine maintenance procedure when it cracked, spilling about 5 milligrams of an undetermined chemical, said Christopher Kramer, a spokesman for the lab.
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The incident occurred a little before 11:30 a.m. in a room near the lab’s Advanced Photon Source, he said.
Both employees were wearing protective gear and neither were exposed to the chemical, Kramer said.
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The chemical had been brought into the lab, which is largely devoid of employees due to COVID-19, by an outside research group and wasn’t labeled, he said. The lab was working to determine what the chemical is, he said.
mnolan@tribpub.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--We’ve lowered the paywall on this essential coronavirus coverage

As the scope of this pandemic came into focus , I started thinking about people living in assisted-living facilities and @ @ @ @ @ bound to experience .
I ’ ve spoken several times at assisted-living facilities around Chicago @ @ @ @ @ aspects of life for residents is the social interaction and the activities and entertainment the @ @ @ @ @ s largely gone now .
Worse yet , many facilities have had to limit or @ @ @ @ @ seniors stuck alone in their rooms or apartments .
So maybe there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ at least that aspect of this crisis .
I tossed an idea out on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ the hashtag # PandemicPals , asking for thoughts and advice on how to network with @ @ @ @ @ where there might be seniors facing isolation .
Read more .

As a public service to our readers and community, we have lowered the paywall on some of our most critical stories so everyone can access this important information. We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing.
We are updating a daily live blog with the latest developments on the reopening of Chicago and Illinois. This is where you’ll find updates on the number of COVID-19 cases in our area, as well as the most up-to-date recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Public Health, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
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As summer nears, Chicagoans are desperate to get out and about — to have a summer picnic with family, to get back to work, to get a haircut. Here’s how and when you might be able to do those things.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday a five-phase plan to get Illinois reopened as the COVID-19 pandemic slows its toll on health care providers. The plan, from “Rapid Spread” to “Illinois Restored,” splits the state up into regions and allows each region to open a different phase should the impact of the pandemic be different throughout the state. The plan also emphasizes that a region can move backward if the health metrics indicate enough risk. Read more.
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Testing for COVID-19 has greatly expanded in Illinois, with the state announcing more than 10,000 test results a day since April 24. The expansion has allowed the state to open up its guidance for who should be able to get a coronavirus test. The Illinois Department of Public Health is saying that testing is available without a doctor’s order to anyone with coronavirus symptoms or an underlying risk factor. Tests are also provided to people on the front lines of the pandemic, such as medical workers, first responders and employees of prisons or nursing homes. Search the map for coronavirus testing site near you.
All Illinois residents over age 2 must wear a face mask when they can’t maintain a 6-foot social distance in public. Studies show that the coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity, including people who are not showing symptoms. Here’s where you can find them, what kind to get and how to make your own.
Americans are brainstorming with neighbors, posting questions on social media, and googling for tips and advice. The question at the center of all the hand wringing and head scratching: How do you thank the essential workers who remain out in the world, exposing themselves to greater risk of contracting the novel coronavirus, so that we can buy our groceries, receive our mail, travel by public transportation, and get health care if we need it? Here are some creative ideas to inspire you.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 68 (Chicago Tribune)
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 the coronavirus 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.
Hundreds of Chicago restaurants have pivoted their operations to delivery, takeout or curbside pickup after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all bars and restaurants in Illinois are closed for dining-in service through April 30. We’re collecting information on restaurants across the area that are still open for delivery or take out. Find a restaurant near you.
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A sign in the windows of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, seen on March 11, 2020, reminds people to wash their hands. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
You wake up with a sore, scratchy throat, and begin coughing and sneezing. It’s probably a run-of-the-mill cold, or it could be the beginning of a bout of seasonal flu. But with dozens of cases of the novel coronavirus surfacing in Illinois, some people are bound to wonder: Could this be the coronavirus? Here’s what experts advise for Illinoisans who fear they are showing signs of coronavirus.
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has placed an extra burden on Chicagoland nonprofit organizations. Here is an evolving list of where you can make donations to organizations helping those in need.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Trade show display maker lost 90% of revenue amid the pandemic. Now it’s making office barriers, and

Trade show display maker lost 90% of revenue amid the pandemic. Now it’s making office barriers, and business is looking up.

“ We ’ re really trying to go after offices right now because once everyone opens up , everyone is @ @ @ @ @ sure their employees are safe , ” he said .
“ You are going to @ @ @ @ @ people from getting within 6 feet of each other .
”

Joshua Patti, a builder at Nimlok Chicago, cuts plastic May 18, 2020, in Des Plaines. The company specializes in exhibits for trade shows but has shifted to make partitions and "sneeze guards" for workplaces. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Everything started going down the drain March 1, said Andrew Perutz, president of Nimlok Chicago.
That was weeks before restaurants shut down. Children were still attending school, and Chicagoans were still crowding onto trains, schlepping downtown and sitting next to unmasked co-workers. The state had only just announced its third confirmed case of COVID-19.
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But already the coronavirus pandemic had sent the convention industry screeching to a standstill. Nimlok, which builds exhibits for conventions that showcase clients’ products, had to find something to do outside of its “main bread and butter,” Perutz said.
[ Pandemic pivot: How Chicago-area businesses and workers are managing the coronavirus crisis ]
“How do you pivot? If you assume the worst-case scenario, what do you do?” he said. “Worst-case scenario is we don’t see trade shows in the country until a vaccine comes. … We have to think creatively."
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The Des Plaines-based company figured out that the same materials it uses to make trade show displays can be repurposed for social distancing measures, Perutz said.
The company started making sneeze guards, dividers to install between desks in offices, extensions for cubicles and other build-outs meant to protect people from each other.
Ryan Schulz, a builder at Nimlok Chicago, shows a custom-built mobile partition on May 18, 2020, in Des Plaines. The company makes exhibits for trade shows but has pivoted to making partitions and "sneeze guards" since the COVID-19 pandemic began. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
“We’re really trying to go after offices right now because once everyone opens up, everyone is going to want to make sure their employees are safe,” he said. “You are going to need these measures that prevent people from getting within 6 feet of each other.”
The new venture started seeing momentum by mid-May, an uptick that coincided with news that the Chicago area is on track to move into the next phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan by May 29.
The area’s progress could still be derailed, but moving into the next phase would mean offices, retailers, manufacturing facilities and salons could reopen with certain restrictions.
Perutz hopes to build the new side of Nimlok’s business as the world reopens. It already signed up clients such as a doctor’s office, a hair salon and a park district that wants standing walls between cubicles in open-floor plans and a sneeze guard in reception.
Perutz’ goal is to have sales of Nimlok’s protective equipment bring in 50% of the revenue the company normally sees during the summer months, which is typically its slow time.
Nimlok Chicago is now making partitions, such as these seen May 18, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Nimlok has lost 90% of its revenue with the temporary demise of conventions, and it doesn’t appear those will start back up any time soon, at least in Illinois.
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Conventions cannot be held again until the fifth and final phase of Pritzker’s recovery plan. To reach that phase, a vaccine must be developed, a treatment option must be readily available or no new cases can arise over a sustained period. There’s no telling how long that might take.
Nimlok, which employs about 20 full-time workers, received a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, which helped buy some time, Perutz said. The company is also planning to serve virtual conventions and trade shows, as the industry shifts online.
For now, the company has no choice “but to go full force” with the protective gear, he said.
“Hopefully it’ll save us in the long run,” Perutz said. “My goal is keep people going, keep the machine going so that when this thing starts up, you just turn the engine and you’re ready to go."
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AllyMarotti
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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--2020-05-22--Construction worker killed when semi veers off Indiana highway, hits him while rear-ending his truck

Ryan E. Greer , 38 , of Knox , Indiana , was killed just before 3 a.m. when the 2019 @ @ @ @ @ drove onto the right shoulder , hitting the 2018 Dodge Ram truck Greer and another @ @ @ @ @ , Inc. , were using , according to a release from State Police Sgt .
@ @ @

A worker doing maintenance on construction zone signs on Interstate 94 east of the Burns Harbor-Porter exit was killed as he stepped out of his truck just as it was rear-ended by a semi truck early Friday, Indiana State Police said.
Ryan E. Greer, 38, of Knox, Indiana, was killed just before 3 a.m. when the 2019 Volvo tractor-trailer truck heading east drove onto the right shoulder, hitting the 2018 Dodge Ram truck Greer and another worker for Traffic Control Specialist, Inc., were using, according to a release from State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield.
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The construction worker had pulled over to take down signage about when tbe semi left the roadway and hit the truck Greer had just gotten out of, Fifield said.
“The impact caused the Dodge to travel down the right ditch and into the trees,” according to the release.
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“Following the initial impact, the Volvo continued east, crossed all lanes of travel and struck the concrete median wall where it burst into flames,” near U.S. Highway 20, according to the release.
The other road worker, who was still in the truck, wasn’t injured, nor was the driver of the semi, a 54-year-old man from Ontario, Canada.
The accident prompted the temporary closure of Interstate 94′s eastbound lanes in Porter County in the Burns Harbor area, Indiana State Police said. Westbound lanes remained open.
Check back for updates.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Crestwood police officer accused of beating, choking woman in front of kids in Portage

As she stood up and placed her hand out to keep him at bay , Pavoni is seen striking her @ @ @ @ @ , according to the recording detailed in the report .

An off-duty Crestwood police officer choked a woman to the point of apparent unconsciousness inside their trailer at a Portage, Indiana, campground last weekend as three children pleaded for him to stop, police said.
Dino Pavoni, 38, of Midlothian, was charged with felony strangulation, four counts of felony domestic battery and interference with reporting of a crime following the altercation early Sunday morning at Lakeshore Camp Resort, according to court records.
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He allegedly became upset after she woke him in the middle of the night to ask for help closing the awning on their camper, according to police reports.
The violent argument that ensued was captured by an outdoor camera and on cellphone videos recorded by one of the children.
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Neither Pavoni nor Crestwood officials immediately responded to requests for comment on the incident.
When Portage police arrived about 3 a.m., after one of the children called 911, all three were in tears, and two told officers they worried she might be dead.
Officers found the woman on the floor of the camper, conscious, but dizzy, with redness around her neck, and in need of medical attention, according to police reports.
She told them Pavoni had grown angry after she woke him and began yelling outside the trailer, reports state.
Dino Pavoni. (Porter County Sheriff's Department)
During the course of the argument, Pavoni allegedly twice slammed the camper’s door on a child’s arm, threw a cellphone into a roadway and flipped over a picnic table, according to the reports.
The argument escalated inside the trailer where cellphone video showed him standing over the woman as she sat on a bed, yelling at her with an object in his left hand that appeared to be a holstered handgun, the reports state.
Police said the woman in the video said, “Get out of my face” and “Get out” as Pavoni stood in front of her.
As she stood up and placed her hand out to keep him at bay, Pavoni is seen striking her head with his right hand, according to the recording detailed in the report.
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At one point as he walked past the children, who were still filming, one of them can be heard yelling, “please stop, please stop,” the report states.
One of the recordings shows Pavoni holding the woman up against a hallway wall by her neck and slamming her to the ground, according to the reports.
He’s then seen stepping over her body and into the living room area as she lies on the ground, gasping for air, the reports state.
“I don’t want her to die,” one of the children is heard yelling, according to the reports, which describe the child pleading with Pavoni and telling him that she’s unconscious.
Pavoni is seen on video leaning over the woman, and telling the child she is still breathing, according to the reports. He eventually attempted to move the woman into an upright position, the reports state.
Pavoni told officers at the scene she was the aggressor and twice denied striking her, according to police reports.
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He said he was trying to restrain the woman by holding her against the wall when she had a seizure and fell face down on the floor, according to the reports.
Pavoni said he checked to ensure she was breathing and had a pulse, and then left her on the floor and went into the bedroom, the reports state. He told officers he had not called 911 because he knew she was breathing and had a pulse, according to the reports.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Harvey landlord charged with murder in shooting death of man who was helping tenant move

Hartzol , 60 , of Riverdale , had been helping a tenant move out of Buchanan ’ s rental property @ @ @ @ @ , the evening of May 3 when an argument started between Harztol , his family @ @ @ @ @ the chief said .

A Harvey landlord has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a man who was helping one of his tenant’s move, police said.
C.L. Buchanan, 57, was arrested Wednesday and charged in the slaying of Charles Hartzol in Harvey earlier this month, police Chief Robert Collins said.
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C.L. Buchanan, age 57 - Original Credit: Cook County Sheriff's Office (Cook County Sheriffs Office / HANDOUT)
Hartzol, 60, of Riverdale, had been helping a tenant move out of Buchanan’s rental property at 14432 Des Plaines St., the evening of May 3 when an argument started between Harztol, his family members and the landlord, the chief said.
During the argument on the home’s front porch, Buchanan pulled out a gun and shot Hartzol in the chest, Collins said.
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Hartzol was pronounced dead a short time later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Buchanan, who fled the scene, remained on the lam until being arrested Wednesday in Lansing with the assistance of the FBI, Collins said. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office lists his address in Chciago.
He was ordered held without bond Friday and is due back in court Aug. 3, state’s attorney’s office.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske


School Grocery Delivery

Township High School District 211 service workers hand out bags of groceries to families in need .


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--2 dead in overnight shootings Thursday in Chatham, South Austin neighborhoods

Shortly before 1 a.m. , two people were inside of a parked vehicle in the 100 block of North Lorel @ @ @ @ @ with gunshot wounds .
One of them had suffered a wound to the neck , @ @ @ @ @ scene .
He has not been identified .

Two men were fatally wounded overnight Thursday in two separate shootings on the West and South sides, Chicago police said.
Shortly before 1 a.m., two people were inside of a parked vehicle in the 100 block of North Lorel Avenue where they were found with gunshot wounds. One of them had suffered a wound to the neck, and was pronounced on the scene. He has not been identified.
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The other man, 19, suffered wounds to the neck, shoulder, back and arm. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
About an hour later, two more men were shot in the Chatham neighborhood, one fatally.
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Shortly after 2 a.m., the two victims were walking in the 7800 block of South King Drive when they were approached by two unknown males who opened fire, striking them both, police said.
One victim, 31, suffered gunshot wounds to the upper and lower body. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The other victim suffered a graze wound to the head and refused medical treatment, police said.
No one was in custody for either shooting, and detectives were investigating.


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Drive-thru coronavirus test site — the first at an Illinois high school — opens in suburban Rolling

Drive-thru coronavirus test site — the first at an Illinois high school — opens in suburban Rolling Meadows

“ We absolutely take into consideration when we ’ re working with the governor ’ s office that underserved communities @ @ @ @ @ said Richard Neely , the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard , which is @ @ @ @ @ in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Public Health and other state agencies .

Aiming to halt the spread of the coronavirus in underserved communities, Illinois health department officials announced Thursday that the state’s first COVID-19 testing site to be based at a high school opened Friday in northwest suburban Rolling Meadows.
The opening of the new coronavirus drive-up testing operation in the parking lot at Rolling Meadows High School was postponed this week to accommodate a Wednesday car parade honoring graduating seniors.
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“We absolutely take into consideration when we’re working with the governor’s office that underserved communities need more testing,” said Richard Neely, the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, which is operating its 10th testing site in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Public Health and other state agencies.
According to the 2019 Illinois School Report Card, about 36% of the students at Rolling Meadows are from Latino families — a demographic in the state that has seen higher rates of COVID-19 fatalities.
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Neely said officials hope to have Spanish language interpreters at the site, which opened at 8 a.m. Friday, and that “no one should be intimidated by our uniforms.”
“The National Guard is your neighbors and friends, and part of the U.S. Army,” Neely said.
Township High School District 214 Superintendent David Schuler said when officials from the state’s health department approached him about the possibility of opening a COVID-19 testing site at the high school, he immediately supported the plan.
“I absolutely want to do whatever we can to help keep our community and our state safe,” Schuler said.
Rolling Meadows Mayor Joe Gallo said that while he also endorsed the opening of the coronavirus testing site, he acknowledged, “a number of residents did voice concerns.”
“I think the overall reaction was concerns that the community didn’t get a voice, and there was a sense of shock,” Gallo said.
The high school is adjacent to a quiet residential neighborhood, and some residents said they were worried about its impact on local traffic, Gallo said.
But Gallo said he is urging residents to view the new testing site in their hometown as a positive, rather than an imposition.
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“It’s conveniently located and can serve so many people from our small town,” Gallo added.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, who attended the Thursday unveiling of the new testing site, described the scene in the high school’s parking lot, including a fleet of National Guard vehicles and uniformed officers adjacent to a massive white tent, as “a bit surreal.”
“We all know the solution — testing, testing, testing — and we’re so grateful to the National Guard that anybody can get a test here,” Casten said.
While first responders, essential workers, those age 65 and over, and people experiencing coronavirus symptoms remain the top priority for the free testing, officials said those who seek testing at the Rolling Meadows facility will be considered on a case-to-case basis.
After completing a short form, providing their name and address, patients will then be given a swab and vial to self-administer the nasal test, which takes only seconds, officials said.
To minimize contact with the crew, patients will then place their swab in the vial and place the vial in a box to be shipped off to a lab.
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Patients should receive results in three to five days, officials said.
"We are grateful for the cooperation and collaboration of district officials to bring this valuable service to the Rolling Meadows community,” Alicia Tate-Nadeau, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement.
The site can accommodate up to 750 tests a day and will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, or until tests run out.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--How to make a living in Chicago sex work amid a pandemic? More hours, less pay and a good internet c

How to make a living in Chicago sex work amid a pandemic? More hours, less pay and a good internet connection.

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

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


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Many Illinois couples wish they were quarantined with their ‘work spouse.’ Experts say don’t sweat i

Many Illinois couples wish they were quarantined with their ‘work spouse.’ Experts say don’t sweat it, but do be careful with that relationship.

Burke said asking your partner questions like , “ What does the term mean to you ?
” and “ @ @ @ @ @ a different way than your other colleagues ?
“ can be helpful ways to gain @ @ @ @ @ these questions sound like , “ I see them as someone who I want to @ @ @ @ @ with , and they understand me in a different way , ” then setting boundaries @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ They ’ re getting more into an intimacy thing .
”

Missing out on those social connections that the workplace brings may be one of the reasons some people are missing their "work spouse."
Quarantine, a global pandemic and the overall state of the world right now have been major bummers, to say the very least.
Well, here’s another to add to the list: 38% of Illinoisans reported missing their work spouse more than they would miss their real partners (if they were to actually get some space from them right now), according to a recent survey. Ouch.
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Two in three Illinois couples said they are not as productive since working under the stay-at-home order alongside their partners, according to the survey data. Similarly, 63% of all those surveyed said their work productivity would be higher if they were quarantined with their “work wife” or “work husband,” instead of their actual wives or husbands.
The survey questioned 3,500 people, who are currently working remotely while in quarantine with their partners, “about their relationship with their work spouse vs. their actual partner.”
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Alyssa Westring, a work-family expert and associate professor of management at the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University, thinks these findings may be more about how people think about the things they have versus the things they don’t have, as opposed to a “who would I pick” mindset. She says not to put too much weight into people’s perceptions about who they would miss more.
“Frankly, we’re all kind of getting sick of the people we’re quarantined with. I’m sure that if we had a day apart from them, we’d miss them, too, but it’s been months for many of us without even an hour break,” she said. “I think it’s more about the fantasy of things being different, than it is really about the intimacy of those relationships.”
The social element of someone’s job can play a large role in missing a work spouse, too, Westring said.
“If you’re married and work a full-time job, the people that you spend the most time with, besides your partner, are your work colleagues — that is your social circle as well,” she said. “So there’s a friendship level, too, that I think people are for sure missing.”
While missing out on those social connections is a valid concern, Westring also thinks being without certain work relationships can make people miss parts of themselves, specifically the parts that are put together and professional, and not frazzled in sweatpants, she said.
“When we’re with our partner, we’re playing that partner role, but there are aspects of our personalities that may come out in the workplace that we don’t really get to express when we’re home all the time,” said Westring. “There’s parts of our identity that we’re not getting to live in right now, and I think the work relationships can remind us of that part of ourselves that we’re not really seeing.”
Elizabeth Burke, owner and founder of Empowered Therapy in Chicago, says couples need to seek understanding around why a partner calls a colleague a “work spouse.”
“It’s important that people are clear about what that means to both the person who has the work spouse, and to their partner,” said Burke. “Be really open and honest and communicative about that, so that the person who has the work spouse can recognize their own blind spots before (those blind spots) become issues in their relationship.”
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Burke said asking your partner questions like, “What does the term mean to you?” and “Do you trust them in a different way than your other colleagues?“ can be helpful ways to gain clarity. If responses to these questions sound like, “I see them as someone who I want to spend a lot of time with, and they understand me in a different way,” then setting boundaries may become necessary, Burke said. “They’re getting more into an intimacy thing.”
Couples should also examine their own relationship, too, asking questions centered around trust and communication like, “Are there issues within our relationship that make it more difficult for me to trust them?” and “Is my partner trying to keep their work life secretive, or changing work habits to align with this colleague?”
Burke doesn’t think the term “work spouse” is negative, but she does urge couples to be careful.
“We spend so much time at our offices working with people who understand our stressors in maybe a different way than our spouses, and who are really there with us so many hours of the week,” she said. “I think it can draw two people together in a way that then can be a little bit dangerous in their personal lives.”
chrjohnson@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-05-22--Column: Two-tower plan for former Chicago Spire site moves a step closer to groundbreaking

The developer also has committed to complete the last leg of a riverwalk on the north bank of the Chicago @ @ @ @ @ will extend to DuSable Park , and other landscaped areas of the site will include @ @ @ @ @ fixtures — a response to neighbors ’ concerns that large crowds on the riverwalk could @ @ @ @ @

A rendering shows two residential towers of unequal height on the Chicago Spire site at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive. (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)
A developer’s plan for two skyline-altering residential skyscrapers at the former Chicago Spire site cleared a key political hurdle Thursday.
But to avoid the fate of the unbuilt Spire, a proposed 2,000-foot tower that captured the imagination of Chicago, the project will have to overcome the financial hurdle of a sharp, pandemic-induced economic downturn.
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The Chicago Plan Commission approved developer Related Midwest’s plan for the showcase site at 400 North Lake Shore Drive. The plan calls for towers rising 875 and 765 feet, with 1,100 combined apartments as well as the completion of a riverwalk along the Chicago River’s north banks and funding for the long-delayed DuSable Park.
“We’re looking at two very elegant towers that, I think, will be iconic on the lakefront skyline,” Chicago planning commissioner Maurice Cox said before the vote.
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In March, before the pandemic forced businesses nationwide to shut down and tipped the economy into what’s being called the coronavirus recession, Related Midwest executives expressed hope they could begin the $1 billion project in early 2021.
Tricia Van Horn, a spokeswoman for Related Midwest, emailed Wednesday that the developer intends to start construction next year.
The developers also have committed to contribute $10 million to the future construction of DuSable Park, which would be built on a 3.3-acre peninsula east of Lake Shore Drive that’s adjacent to their site.
In response to a question from Cox, Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, said Thursday that he will ensure the city would contribute $5 million to the planned $15 million park. It was envisioned during the 1980s administration of former Mayor Harold Washington to honor Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, Chicago’s first non-Native American settler.
Since 2008, when plans for the Spire collapsed during the Great Recession, the 2.2-acre site has contained only a 76-foot-deep, circular foundation hole that was dug for the twisting, Santiago Calatrava-designed tower.
Related Midwest’s plan is downsized from its initial proposal for the site, which included towers of 1,100 and 850 feet.
After neighbors complained that the project would worsen traffic flow in the already-congested Streeterville neighborhood, the developer made other changes, including eliminating a hotel from one of the towers and a four-story podium that would have connected the skyscrapers.
Responding to neighbors’ concerns about unruly behavior by pedestrians in Streeterville, Related also cut a previously planned walkway that would have created an east-west route along the Ogden Slip to still-to-be-completed DuSable Park.
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At Thursday’s meeting, which was conducted online, activist Butler Adams criticized that change.
“I don’t think this should be negotiated away just because wealthy residents who live along Ogden Slip hounded the alderman,” Adams said, referring to Reilly. “That’s not fair for the pedestrian access.”
Curt Bailey, Related Midwest’s president, said Thursday that there would be two entrances to DuSable Park — one from the planned riverwalk, the other from the Navy Pier Flyover bike trail.
Reilly reiterated his support for the project, saying it includes important public benefits and would be “a fantastic addition to our city skyline.”
The former Chicago Spire site sits empty behind an entry ramp off Lake Shore Drive on Oct. 22, 2018 in Streeterville as the Vista Tower rises at left. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
The developer also has committed to complete the last leg of a riverwalk on the north bank of the Chicago River. The new stretch will extend to DuSable Park, and other landscaped areas of the site will include extensive security cameras and light fixtures — a response to neighbors’ concerns that large crowds on the riverwalk could create security problems. .
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Reilly also said he would require a new traffic study after the first tower is completed and before the city issues a construction permit for the second one.
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The project’s towers are designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the architect of One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.
The approximately 3½-year first phase would be completed by 2024, followed by 500 apartments, or possibly condominiums, depending on demand, in the south tower, Bailey said.
The project still needs approval from the City Council’s zoning committee and the full council.
Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin