chicagotribune--2020-04-30--Americans are drinking quarantinis with Cuomosexuals. Your guide to quarantine culture.

The COVID-15 : We ’ ve been coining new phrases , including the COVID-15 , a play on the Freshman @ @ @ @ @ pounds that freshmen are said to gain when they go to college .
Also new @ @ @ @ @ beard grown during quarantine ; it ’ s often spotted via Zoom meeting .
Coronashaming @ @ @ @ @ is not following coronavirus safety guidelines and a covidiot is what you call someone when @ @ @ @ @ extreme coronashaming .
There are also words from the official public health lexicon that have @ @ @ @ @ .
Who knew what social distancing , or maintaining space between yourself and others , @ @ @ @ @ , we ’ re going to be explaining it to future generations .

Who needs car crashes and machine guns when you can be picking peaches on your own sun-splashed island?
The video game everyone’s talking about during quarantine is the unabashedly mild-mannered “Animal Crossing,” with no competition, zero explosions, just the slow-moving pleasures of gardening, creating a home and building a community with your furry friends and neighbors.
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The "Animal Crossing" video game allows you to escape to your own little island paradise and create a home there. Nintendo advertises "Animal Crossing" as an antidote to the stress of pandemic living. (Nintendo of America / TNS)
“It’s something that shouldn’t be fun but is extremely,” said Alice Dunaway, 25, a moderator at the Sounds Midwestern But Ope! Okey dokey Facebook page who has logged more than 80 hours on the video game during the stay-at-home order.
“I get so excited paying off my mortgage. I’m like OK, (the raccoon landlord) is a capitalist crook, but at the same time, I’m really excited.”
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The cultural landscape has shifted over the past six weeks, with Americans obsessing over the gentle, slow-moving “Animal Crossing” and lip-syncing songs by the gun-toting, sequin-draped, would-be pop star at the center of the Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” We’re embracing decisive leaders (Lori Lightfoot, Andrew Cuomo) with ever more creative memes, as well as baking bread, sewing face masks and putting teddy bears in our windows.
A still from Netflix's "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness." (Netflix/Courtesy of Netflix)
As in the Great Depression, when Americans flocked to lighthearted movies — musicals, screwball comedies, Shirley Temple vehicles — we’re gravitating toward reassuring distractions. We’re eating comfort foods, doing puzzles and imagining Lightfoot patrolling Gotham City and the merry old land of Oz.
“Facebook groups and Facebook memes and Tiger King and quarantinis and stuff like that are all like a Band-Aid,” said Allison Vasquez-Lovell, 28, of Milwaukee, a moderator of the Sounds Midwestern Facebook page.
“They’re all trying to keep us sane when there’s a global trauma going on.” There’s been an explosion of creativity, much of it online, according to Samuel Taylor, an assistant professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. And we’re gathering in new ways, with Zoom happy hours and parties.
Here’s your quick guide to quarantine culture.
Cuomosexual: We’re looking for heroes in the time of quarantine, and finding them (depending on our political leanings) in confident leaders such as President Donald Trump, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo has broken through with daily briefings that have homebound audiences looking at him with a whole new kind of appreciation and declaring themselves Cuomosexuals.
Lori Lightfoot memes: Both Cuomo and Lightfoot have gone national, Lightfoot with hilarious memes that show her calling our collective bluff regarding the need to practice our jump shots or enjoy the lakefront. Check out the woman with a life-size Lightfoot cutout, and the meme in which the mayor blocks Dorothy from entering the Emerald City.
Joe Exotic: We’re guessing that “Tiger King,” the Netflix documentary about Oklahoma private-zoo owner Joseph Maldonado-Passage, would have been a hit regardless of whether we were sequestered in our homes. But in the present circumstances, Joe, a larger-than-life polygamist with a controversial tiger-breeding business, has become a national obsession, with teenagers lip-syncing his so-bad-they’re-good pop songs on TikTok, where the hashtag #tigerking alone has racked up 4.3 billion views.
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Carole Baskin: With her signature social media greeting, “Hey all you cool cats and kittens,” animal activist and big cat sanctuary owner Carole Baskin has become a national heroine or a punchline, depending on where you stand on tiger breeding for profit and the odd appeal of her nemesis. Teens on TikTok are re-creating her distinctive look, which includes a garland of flowers and an abundance of animal prints. A Chicago animal shelter recently put out a social media plug for a handsome orange tabby named the Dude, who was looking for a new home. The Dude’s profile said he had been enjoying Netflix and hates that (darn) Carole Baskin.”
Quarantini: Yes, we’re eating, and drinking, and coming up with new drinks, and new excuses to drink them. Depending on your recipe, the quarantini can be just a martini sipped during quarantine, or new twists with ingredients such as grapefruit juice, vanilla vodka or rosemary. A quarantini is best sipped in a Zoom get-together, Zoom being the video conferencing app that’s exploded into the popular consciousness with many of us now working from home and attending Zoom meetings.
Just a friendly reminder from your Auntie to stay home. #StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/RpX4tgRx2i — Mayor Lightfoot #StayHomeSaveLives (@chicagosmayor) April 10, 2020
Homemade masks: There were doubters at first: “Are you going to crochet them?” they snickered. But with a shortage of protective gear for health care workers, hand-sewn masks have become a valuable resource and a way that everyday people with good sewing skills can make a difference. Many Chicagoans are eager to help those who are risking their lives in difficult times, and face masks are part of a larger movement to provide meals to health care workers, applaud them nightly at 8 p.m, and recognize them with yard signs and posters.
The COVID-15: We’ve been coining new phrases, including the COVID-15, a play on the Freshman 15, or the 15 pounds that freshmen are said to gain when they go to college. Also new: coronabeard, or the beard grown during quarantine; it’s often spotted via Zoom meeting. Coronashaming is criticizing someone you believe is not following coronavirus safety guidelines and a covidiot is what you call someone when you’re engaging in extreme coronashaming. There are also words from the official public health lexicon that have made it into common speech. Who knew what social distancing, or maintaining space between yourself and others, meant in February? Now, we’re going to be explaining it to future generations.
Teddy bears: If you see a teddy bear in a neighbor’s window, it’s no accident. American communities have joined in an international social-media-driven movement to create social-distancing scavenger hunts for children. Quarantine kid culture also includes sidewalk chalk art, signs and drawings taped to windows, and, for those who have video learning, the chance to meet your teacher’s pet dog, cat or hamster.
Baking: The stay-at-home order has given a surprising number of us the time and inclination to bake breads, cakes, even croissants. “The amount of baking people are doing? People seem so mystified that there’s no eggs or butter or flour in the store, but it’s obviously because everybody has become a major baker in their spare time,” said Montana Miller, an associate professor of the popular culture department at Bowling Green State University.
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And it’s not just baking, Miller said. Crafts, knitting and group singing are among the forms of creative culture that are thriving under current conditions.
“People have time to do puzzles now; that’s amazing,” she said.
“I wouldn’t be too surprised if we do make it through all of this, and look back on it in future years, if it seems like a little period of time when we gained a lot. Imagine looking back and saying, ‘Oh remember that three months when we had dinner together every day? We just had so much time with our kids.’ I think it’s very likely that some people might look back on this with a kind of nostalgia.”
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-30--A long way from dodgeball: How the coronavirus school shutdown has changed PE class

“ We ’ d love to see kids up and active for 60 minutes each day , but we have @ @ @ @ @ this realistic ?
And maybe instead , we need to look at how many kids @ @ @ @ @ it , even if it took only 20 minutes , ” said Dolniak .
“ @ @ @ @ @ in their regular classroom meetings , which is my opportunity to touch base with the @ @ @ @ @ to try and stay active with their families .
”

Kate Macias, 14, an eighth grader at Winston Campus Junior High School, exercises along with her teacher, Emmie Galan, who is conducting virtual workouts via Instagram on April 27, 2020, in Palatine. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
As a physical education teacher at Winston Campus Junior High in Palatine, Emmie Galan used to lead spirited volleyball matches and handball games in the school gym. Now she’s hosting Instagram Live workout sessions for students from her living room.
“My first thought was, I need to engage them in a way that will lead to maximum participation for all of my students, which is always sort of difficult, even when PE is not online," Galan said. “We’re trying to keep our students’ spirits high, and we don’t want to penalize them, because they’re going through a difficult time right now, and they need our positive support more than ever.”
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From her home, phys ed teacher Emmie Galan conducts a virtual workout via Instagram Live for her eighth grade students from Winston Campus Junior High in Palatine. She usually has about 20 students join her live session and about 100 view it over the next day. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
So far, Galan estimates that of her 180 students, which includes six eighth-grade classes, about half the kids are consistently responding to her daily questions, including “What was your workout like today?”
While joining in the Instagram Live workouts is encouraged, Galan said they’re not mandatory, and her primary goal is to encourage her students to stay active and healthy during the sudden halting of their daily PE classes at the Palatine school.
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“Some of the kids send me videos of them doing their workouts, and I send feedback, and they love it,” Galan. “But it’s kind of an honor system, because I know there are students who are home alone, and have to watch their younger siblings when their parents are at work.”
While it’s no simple feat to teach students the finer points of adjectives or algorithms from a Google classroom, keeping kids active, moving and participating in physical education from the confines of a computer screen has its unique challenges.
Still, teachers and other experts agree that ensuring students of all ages stay physically active and embrace a healthy lifestyle is more important than ever during this uncertain and anxious time in their lives.
"Remote learning does not allow us to offer kids a typical PE class, but we know how important it is for both their bodies and minds that they’re getting exercise right now,” John Dolniak, a PE teacher at Patton Elementary in Arlington Heights, said.
“Any time the kids turn on the TV or their phone, they’re getting bombarded constantly with everything that’s going on in the world with the coronavirus right now, and that’s certainly not uplifting for their social emotional health,” Dolniak said.
Winston Campus Junior High School phys ed teacher Emmie Galan conducts a virtual workout via Instagram Live for her students from her home. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
A provision of the Illinois School Code that mandates fitness assessments for students was recently suspended because of the COVID-19 school closures. But given Illinois’ reputation as a national leader in PE and health instruction, teachers like Dolniak say even during school closures, the classes remain a priority.
In Illinois, public schools must offer students a PE class three days a week, but some school districts choose to surpass the requirements and many hold daily PE instruction for students in sixth through 12th grades.
Dolniak said he and his fellow District 25 PE teachers aim to offer virtual instruction that is fun, healthy and creative. That has included using a digital platform to post links to online yoga practices and “minute-to-win-it" challenges, like flipping a water bottle, and holding drop-in fitness classes and pep talks on Zoom.
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“We’d love to see kids up and active for 60 minutes each day, but we have to ask ourselves, is this realistic? And maybe instead, we need to look at how many kids looked, clicked and tried it, even if it took only 20 minutes,” said Dolniak. “I also try to jump in their regular classroom meetings, which is my opportunity to touch base with the kids, and remind them to try and stay active with their families.”
Across the U.S., there are roughly 200,000 physical education and health teachers in kindergarten to 12th grade schools, according to the Maryland-based Society of Health and Physical Educators, and many of them are now teaching virtually.
Senior Program Manager Michelle Carter said that in addition to wide disparities in students’ access to digital resources, the ability to lead a successful online PE class also varies dramatically, and often hinges on a teacher’s level of expertise and confidence with using the technology.
“I think teachers are making a heartfelt effort to really come together as a community, to tutor each other in things like Google Classroom and how to record and upload videos for their students,” said Carter, adding PE teachers are also sharing advice and lessons on Twitter at #HPE@home.
Eighth grader Kate Macias participates in a virtual workout led by PE teacher Emmie Galan, of Winston Campus Junior High in Palatine. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
As teachers rally to bolster their students’ physical, social and emotional health during the global pandemic, Carter said some educators worry that the economic downturn could prompt budget cuts that threaten PE programs nationwide.
“Unfortunately, in many parts of the country, health, PE, and music and art classes are already marginalized, and we might have to fight to prevent them from being cut,” Carter said.
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For students like Winston Campus eighth grader Kate Macias, who on a recent morning participated in a 20-minute high-intensity interval training workout led by her teacher, Emmie Galan, on Instagram Live, PE class has always been a favorite part of her school day.
“I’ve always loved Ms. Galan’s class … playing lacrosse, basketball and volleyball, and coming together as a group is really fun. So following her Instagram workout makes me feel like I’m doing something productive, instead of just walking around the house procrastinating,” Kate said. “I do it because staying fit makes me feel good about myself, which is really important during this whole quarantine.”
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-30--Nonprofit’s goal: 350,000 free masks for Chicagoans

“ I had been speaking with Emily and Stephanie a few days prior to that , wanting to make a @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We ’ ve been racking our brains and thinking that we had more @ @ @ @ @ d been used to … so the timing was perfect when I had my conversation @ @ @ @ @ day .
”

On the eve of new Illinois requirements to wear face masks in public, nonprofit Masks4Chi aims to distribute 350,000 free, reusable cloth masks throughout Chicago. The nonprofit’s goal is to raise awareness about mask use in an effort to help flatten the coronavirus curve. From Thursday to May 3, Masks4Chi will start the first stage of distribution with 25,000 masks.
The organization was started by Anand Sheth, owner of Mon Ami Jewelry and Mon Ami Realty, after a conversation with a friend, cardiologist Dr. Saumil Oza, who had started a similar organization in Jacksonville, Florida, Masks4Jax. Sheth shared the idea with his team members, Emily Jodlowski and Stephanie Garcia Ochoa, who supported it.
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Anand Sheth, left, and Emily Jodlowski of Mon Ami Jewelry prepare face masks April 28, 2020, at the shop on North Wabash Avenue in Chicago. The company was looking for a way to help out while shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
“I had been speaking with Emily and Stephanie a few days prior to that, wanting to make a difference,” Sheth says. “We’ve been racking our brains and thinking that we had more free time than we’d been used to … so the timing was perfect when I had my conversation with my friend earlier that day.”
Jose Ochoa, the nonprofit’s executive director became involved after hearing about the plans from his wife, Garcia Ochoa. He says he designed Masks4Chi’s website and also has previous management and executive experience.
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In two weeks, Masks4Chi had partnered with a running list of local Chicago restaurants to give out the first 25,000 masks.
“Our plan with the first 25,000 masks is to distribute them through these local restaurants, as well as the food delivery app Chowbus,” Sheth says. “Our hope is that this will increase exposure and help with donations.”
Two free, individually wrapped masks will be included in orders from participating restaurants, as will a flyer explaining Masks4Chi’s mission and initiative. The nonprofit says there is no minimum purchase required to receive free masks.
The masks are made of a two-ply cotton blend and are manufactured in Vietnam through Finn Ryan Design, which is also used by Masks4Jax. They are all one size, large, which Masks4Chi says should fit most adults comfortably and can be folded or pinned back if too big.
“One thing that is really important to us is to make sure we’re providing masks to the city’s most vulnerable communities,” says Ochoa.
Masks4Chi reached out to some favorite restaurants and cold-called others from around the city, using the Tribune’s coronavirus ZIP code map.
Face masks ready for distribution are seen at Mon Ami Jewelry on North Wabash Avenue in Chicago on April 28, 2020. A flyer included with each pair of masks mentions the nonprofit organization Masks4Chi. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Some restaurants have gone beyond distributing the masks. For example, Cozy Noodles and Rice in Lakeview contributed to the cost of printing the accompanying flyers. Others were excited about Masks4Chi’s mission, like Old Chicago Pizza on 79th Street, which said it needed more masks after giving out disposable masks to customers.
Beyond the initial distribution, the campaign would like to partner with churches, food banks and other community organizations distributing essential supplies. Currently, Masks4Chi is partnering with Alive Church in Oak Lawn.
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The nonprofit is in the early stages of fundraising for the next phases of distribution. The first 25,000 masks were funded by Sheth’s businesses. Masks4Chi is seeking more funding to order more masks.
“We are hopeful that we will find a corporate sponsor,” says Sheth, “Mon Ami has been proud to be a part of this endeavor, but we would love for someone else to be a part of this and come on board as a partner as we do need a lot more support.”
hgreenspan@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-04-30--Season’s first plover sightings raise hopes for return of Monty and Rose, inspire creative watch pla

Season’s first plover sightings raise hopes for return of Monty and Rose, inspire creative watch plans amid pandemic

“ We did so much planning over the winter , discussing how to prepare for this year , ” said @ @ @ @ @ of the Chicago Ornithological Society .
“ We did not take into account that there @ @ @ @ @ ” But , Giometti said , “ As sad as it is to not be @ @ @ @ @ of the greatest spots for spring migration in the country as we enter into the @ @ @ @ @ it may be good for the birds .
”

A piping plover named Violet walks on Waukegan Beach around April 19, 2020. Violet is missing most of her foot. (Tamima Itani/ Illinois Ornithological Society)
The birds are back in town.
After a summer that brought ornithologists from all over to Chicago for the dramatic coupling of two federally endangered piping plovers, a few of the dapper shorebirds have been spotted along the Lake Michigan coast.
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Monty and Rose, the main attractions of Montrose Beach, haven’t yet appeared. But plovers have a high return rate to spots where they’ve successfully nested. Last summer, the couple overcame a music festival, Fourth of July fireworks, the loss of their first clutch of eggs and the death of a chick to become the first pair of plovers to nest successfully in Chicago in decades.
Monty and Rose fledged two chicks by the end of August.
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Waterfowl at Montrose Beach on April 26, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
If the lakefront shutdown continues, and Monty and Rose decide to give Montrose a second shot, a nesting season without volleyball players and beachgoers could mean a better chance of fledgling success. Still, the plovers are up against near-record high lake levels and disappearing beaches, and, if throngs of Chicagoans are reintroduced to the lakeshore after courting begins, the plovers may face their own social distancing nightmare.
Experts are preparing and adjusting for a plover summer during the pandemic. Everyone from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chicago Park District to the Lincoln Park Zoo and local enthusiasts are anticipating the return of two little birds.
The seasonal homecoming of the birds who have a day named in their honor has reminded birders that even as our lives are upended by the coronavirus, other creatures’ routines are holding steady. It’s like the Emily Dickinson poem, except hope is literally the thing with feathers.
“I saw my first plover at Waukegan on Sunday, and all of a sudden, it’s just such a happy thing to happen in the midst of all of this,” said Tamima Itani, of the Illinois Ornithological Society. “It’s kind of like, life continues, somehow.”
‘Double-edged sword’
Last summer, the plovers nested as Mamby on the Beach loomed. The EDM festival could have brought thousands of revelers to Montrose before its sudden cancellation.
“We did so much planning over the winter, discussing how to prepare for this year,” said Carl Giometti, former president of the Chicago Ornithological Society. “We did not take into account that there would be a global pandemic.” But, Giometti said, “As sad as it is to not be able to go to one of the greatest spots for spring migration in the country as we enter into the high holidays for birding, it may be good for the birds.”
Ornithologists are curious to see how the shutdown affects the birding world at large. Noise pollution can affect nesting, and with more people inside, some areas may be more hospitable. But there are fewer people out collecting data that would show long-term trends. One major survey was canceled entirely.
The empty beaches may specifically help the plovers’ survival and reproduction, said Brad Semel, an endangered species recovery specialist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. After a long trek north, birds in busy areas feed in spurts, adding on body fat in between encroaching walkers and wandering dogs. Fewer disturbances could be an advantage.
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On the flip side, the birds may have benefited from all the eyes on them last summer.
“It really is kind of a double-edged sword," Semel said. “Because in previous years we’ve had almost instantaneous reports of where these plovers are because there are just so many bird watchers.”
Monitors were helped out by sightings posted on the eBird database, Semel said, where information from anyone along the lakefront could be shared immediately. “And now we’ve got miles of beach with nobody out there really looking on a daily basis."
There will be no crowds to shoo away hungry predators like raccoons or skunks.
“I would say that they’re a bird that is helped out by more humans watching them,” said Stephanie Beilke, a conservation science manager with Audubon Great Lakes. “Because they’re in this unique situation where they are nesting on beaches where they’re quite exposed to predators.”
Fewer people could mean less garbage, which could keep predators at bay. But if those critters are struggling to find food, they might scope out other areas, Beilke said.
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“And eggs are kind of the big food for just about anything that will eat animal protein,” she said. “An egg is a sitting duck.”
'Plucky plover’
A few plovers have been spotted in recent days on their migration north, giving fans hope that Monty and Rose are on their way. Because of a major banding effort, many plovers can be tracked throughout their lives, with stories created along the way from their triumphs and mishaps.
At Waukegan, Itani, of the Illinois Ornithological Society, saw a Great Plains plover — a rarity in the region. The next day she saw Violet, a Sleeping Bear Dunes native named for the color of her band and known for her “very distinctive tracks,” according to the Great Lakes plover recovery site.
A few years ago, fiber got tangled around Violet’s left foot during her journey south and she lost her toes. She then lost her sister, with whom she wintered. Last summer, after a likely predator attacked, Violet lost her mate.
The Waukegan sighting meant she managed to survive another migration. This week, she was spotted back in Michigan with a new mate by her side.
Violet is “a plucky plover," joked Louise Clemency, a field supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She’s also “a great example of why we encourage people to do beach cleanups,” referring to the harmful effects litter can have on wildlife.
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Piping plover Rose, right, leaves the nest as her mate, Monty, relieves her at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 18, 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
“The fact that we’re seeing other plovers on their way back north means at any point now we could expect Monty or Rose to show up,” Clemency said.
A Chicago Park District worker recently spotted a plover at Montrose.
That male plover is about 5 years old, according to the recovery effort’s tracking system, and after flying from Florida he’s expected to eventually land at North Manitou Island at Sleeping Bear.
Spokeswoman Michele Lemons said the Park District is monitoring the lakefront beaches for plover activity.
“We are keeping an eye out for Monty, Rose and their two un-banded chicks,” Lemons said.
‘Wonderful partnership’
This year’s Plover Watch kicked off on Zoom, in a call with dozens of enthusiasts — one in a full-on plover suit, others in “Chicago is for Plovers” T-shirts. There were varying plover backgrounds.
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First, a sum-up of last season’s numbers from Sarah Saunders of National Audubon: 71 pairs of nesting Great Lakes plovers, almost halfway to the 150 goal. Then, a reminder of ongoing threats: habitat loss from shoreline development and beach use, human disturbances, climate threats like more frequent and intense storms coupled with high lake levels.
Finally, some stories of notable birds. Like Old Man Plover, who lived to be 16 and fathered 37 fledglings. And Rocky, who as a first-time father incubated some rocks instead of eggs.
As for Monty and Rose, it’s still early in nesting season, Saunders said. Males generally show up first to secure their territory. Nests start popping up by late May. Monty and Rose started scraping their nest last summer in early June.
The pandemic has rendered the massive volunteer project organized last summer impossible, so supporters are getting creative about filling in the blanks.
Those involved in the watch effort are asking essential workers on the lakefront to keep a lookout. A local police sergeant even posts on eBird sometimes, said Semel, of IDNR.
“So it’s really a very wonderful partnership,” Semel said. “To pull a ragtag team of those interested in ornithology together to have somewhat of a monitoring system going on down there.”
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There won’t be any binocular sharing this year, but Bob Dolgan, the director of a Monty and Rose documentary — which will air on WTTW-Ch. 11 on Saturday — is thinking of how to document the plovers’ ongoing story.
“I think a lot of birders are just wondering, man, what is going on out at Montrose?” Dolgan said. “All those days we can’t be there, what rarities are we missing?”
For now, birders have their fingers crossed from their homes for Monty and Rose’s return, with excitement building anytime there’s word of another Montrose landing.
“There’s so many bad things going on,” Semel said. “It really is nice to anticipate the good things that are still going on in the world. Thinking about these two plovers, and will they return, and just the excitement of, if they do return, how many people were involved.”


chicagotribune--2020-04-30--Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker says state has distributed 20 million PPE items as new kno

Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Pritzker says state has distributed 20 million PPE items as new known cases of COVID-19 push Illinois count above 50,000

State officials Wednesday reported another 92 deaths in Illinois related to the coronavirus , as the statewide death toll reached 2,215 .
Officials also announced 2,253 new known cases of COVID-19 , bringing total to 50,355 .
That ’ s the sixth time in the past seven days that the number of new cases has topped 2,000 .
The new numbers came as Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s extension of a statewide stay-at-home order continued to face pushback , with a second Republican state lawmaker challenging the order in a lawsuit accusing the governor of creating “ a police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ another attempt at grandstanding.
” 7:45 p.m. : He was supposed to retire Thursday after 34 years as a surgical tech .
Instead , he died Monday after testing positive for coronavirus .
After decades of scrubbing in on surgeries as a surgical technologist , Juan Martinez was looking forward to retirement .
He planned to travel with his wife and spend more time with his grandchildren .
He was so dedicated to his job that he kept working even as the coronavirus crisis coincided with the final weeks before his retirement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dedicated man to work , ” said his son , Juan Martinez Jr. , who was so enthralled by his father ’ s zest for his work that he , too , chose the same career .
“ He was so passionate.
” Father and son worked together at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago .
On Monday , Martinez , 60 , died after testing positive for the coronavirus .
7:29 p.m. : Viral video of Chicago house party reveals disconnect between black youth and media during coronavirus House parties are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past now that COVID-19 has turned into a pandemic .
But on April 25 , a viral video showed a Galewood gathering of dozens of people at a memorial party for two friends who died of gun violence years ago .
The video drew such a level of nationwide vitriol on social media that Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the revelers as “ foolish and reckless , ” and Gov .
J.B. Pritzker criticized the partygoers for “ putting everyone around you in danger.
” ( Tribune columnist , Dahleen Glanton , wrote an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partied , citing the reality of killing loved ones “ without even knowing that you are carrying a weapon.
” ) Chicago police have subsequently said they cited the homeowner with disorderly conduct Monday .
With so much conversation about the event , The Triibe , a digital media platform that tells stories of black Chicago , sought to find the disconnect between local government officials , black youth and traditional media outlets in conveying the serious nature of the coronavirus .
In her article , Veronica Harrison ( aka Vee L. Harrison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the party .
The woman told Harrison she knows COVID-19 is serious , but she ’ s not letting fear win out over her faith .
The partygoer told Harrison : “ I get irritated with these celebrities trying to tell us to stay in the house .
Us people that aren ’ t as rich as them , we don ’ t have nothing to do in the house .
Sometimes this can cause you to go into boredom and depression and you have to get out , you have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phone has not left her hand since the Triibe story went live Tuesday night .
Read more here .
—Darcel Rockett A River Grove firefighter and paramedic who had tested positive for COVID-19 but appeared to be on the mend died early Wednesday from a stroke , officials said .
Robert “ David ” Reisinger , 57 , who had been with the department for nearly 18 years and was the longtime EMS system coordinator at Stroger Hospital in Chicago , became ill several weeks ago along with a co-worker who had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sean Flynn said .
Reisinger had gotten better and was scheduled to return to work Wednesday , Flynn said , but suffered a stroke Monday .
The Cook County medical examiner ’ s office does not list COVID-19 as a factor in Reisinger ’ s death , but researchers have found links between the virus and some types of strokes .
His husband , Kuanwu Lin , does not consider the two events to be coincidental .
“ It ’ s still unpredictable what this virus will do to a human body , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also recovering from COVID-19 .
“ We are still learning about it .
...
If this was related to COVID-19 , then it makes this virus even more powerful , and therefore we can not be too cautious.
” Read more here .
—John Keilman Highwood vodka-maker 28 Mile Distilling Co. is joining the ranks of Chicagoland distilleries lending their facilities to the production of hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic .
The distillery , named for its 28-mile distance from Chicago , will donate the hand sanitizer — which includes nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Police Department .
It ’ s the largest donation of sanitizer that the department has received yet .
The key ingredient in hand sanitizers is neutral grain spirit , which is essentially vodka .
The spirit is combined with glycerin and hydrogen peroxide to make hand sanitizer .
Distilleries across the Chicago area and the nation have been pivoting to make the sanitizer during the pandemic .
The approximately 1,400 gallons of 28 Mile Distilling Co. product will be distributed to officers Thursday at the Police Academy .
—Adam Lukach 5:36 p.m. : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but effect on Illinois facilities is uncertain President Donald Trump has ordered meat processing plants to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic even as they have emerged as hotspots for worker illnesses in Illinois and elsewhere , laying bare the challenge of keeping the nation ’ s food supply chain intact while protecting workers on crowded production lines .
Trump , in an executive order signed Tuesday , invoked the Defense Production Act to prevent meat plant closures , saying they “ threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national emergency . ''
Unions and workers rights advocates said the action jeopardizes worker safety .
The order came as COVID-19 cases prompted a growing number of major slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities to temporarily shut down , sometimes under pressure from local authorities .
The closures have sent ripples across the supply chain as farmers lost markets for their livestock and grocers braced for a shortage of meat on their shelves .
More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily over the past two months , including three in Illinois that shuttered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immediately clear Wednesday what the order means for those facilities .
Smithfield Foods , the world ’ s largest pork producer , indefinitely shuttered a large pork plant in Monmouth Friday after a “ small portion ” of its 1,700 employees tested positive for COVID-19 , and it closed a smaller plant in St. Charles , where 325 people work , on orders from the Kane County Health Department to improve social distancing and take other safety measures .
Hormel closed an 800-worker plant in Rochelle that makes bacon and deli meats on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with plans to reopen May 4 .
Monmouth Mayor Rod Davies said he is eager to see work resume at the Smithfield plant , which is a huge employer in his town of about 10,000 people , but is concerned about doing it in a way that keeps workers safe .
Read more here .
—Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz State Rep. Darren Bailey request for a personal exemption from the order “ besides being dangerous — is flawed as a matter of law , ” Attorney General Kwame Raoul ’ s office argues in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court .
The filing comes two days after a Clay County judge issued a temporary order freeing Bailey from Pritzker ’ s directive , which is aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus .
Read more here .
—Dan Petrella Applications for the licenses were due Jan. 1 and were set to be awarded May 1 .
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation , which regulates dispensaries , said Wednesday that it will not award the licenses until the end of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation , or until the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offer the first path into Illinois ’ burgeoning marijuana industry for people who didn ’ t already operate a cannabis facility .
Though recreational sales started in the state Jan. 1 , only existing operators were allowed to participate .
The delay means those existing operators will continue to control Illinois ’ marijuana market , which has delivered some of the highest first months of revenue in the nation .
Customers spent about $ 110.2 million on legal weed in the first three months of sales .
It is unclear how long the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Once the state does award a license , the recipient has 180 days to find a location for the dispensary .
The state must then inspect the location .
Read more here .
—Ally Marotti 3:26 p.m. : Facing ongoing ridership drop , Metra cuts service on three of its least busy lines Faced with an ongoing ridership slump due to the coronavirus pandemic , Metra is sharply cutting service on its three least busy lines starting Monday , May 4 .
On the Heritage Corridor , which runs between Union Station @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Service , which goes between Union Station and Antioch , the schedule will be reduced to one inbound trip in the morning and one outbound trip in the evening , Metra said in a news release on Wednesday .
On the SouthWest Service , which runs between Union Station and Manhattan , Illinois , there will be two inbound trips in the morning and two outbound trips in the evening , Metra said .
The cuts come on top of cuts already made to Metra ’ s weekday schedule last month .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Heritage Corridor currently has three inbound and four outbound trains , while the North Central has seven trains in each direction .
The SouthWest Service has ten trains in each direction .
Read more here .
—Mary Wisniewski 3:09 p.m. : Police to issue citation in connection with wedding party in West Rogers Park Chicago police will be issuing a citation in connection with a party at a West Rogers Park residence that spilled into the street last week , prompting police to break up the crowd for violating stay-at-home orders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Block Club Chicago , was recorded on video and showed a few dozen revelers dancing to loud music at an Orthodox Jewish wedding party outside a home at Farwell and Francisco avenues .
Some people in the video could be seen wearing masks , but the crowd was too large to allow for following rules on social distancing .
Chicago police have said officers responded to the gathering shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday , dispersed the crowd and left the scene without issuing any citations .
But on Wednesday , Chicago police said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a spokesman could not immediately provide specifics .
At the same time , Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during an afternoon news conference that enforcement action would be taken in connection with the wedding party in the same fashion that police took action with the owner of a Northwest Side home , where viral video showed dozens of young African-American party-goers in close quarters who also were not practicing social distancing .
“ They should be treated exactly the same , '' Lightfoot said in reference to the wedding party nearly a week ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we identify whose responsible and we will be taking the same kind of decisive action against that large wedding where the video shows people in cars , but people in the street not social distancing , not wearing appropriate mask or garb .
” We can ’ t tolerate it anywhere .
It ’ s not just the black millennials .
It ’ s a problem wherever it rears its head .
We ’ re going to move decisively to , again , help educate , but where necessary , take action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are responsible.
” The announcement of the enforcement action at the West Rogers Park party comes two days after Chicago police ticketed the owner of the Northwest Side residence in the 2000 block of North Narragansett Avenue in the Galewood neighborhood .
That party occurred some time over the weekend , and while police broke up that large gathering there were initially no citations issued .
The two parties occurred in areas of Chicago with among the highest numbers of positive COVID-19 cases .
Read more here .
—Jeremy Gorner and Gregory Pratt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ landlords and tenants to work together amid coronavirus-related financial crunch Under pressure from activists and elected officials calling for rent relief and other measures to help struggling tenants , Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a “ Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge ” encouraging landlords and renters to work together through the coronavirus pandemic .
The pledge , which Lightfoot outlined at City Hall on Wednesday , calls for landlords to consider grace period for rent payments , written repayment plans and no late fees .
It also calls for housing lenders to agree to grace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to credit agencies and suspension of foreclosures for certain mortgage holders “ who demonstrate a significant financial impact from the pandemic.
” Signatories to the mayor ’ s pledge include the Chicagoland Apartment Association , Chicago Association of REALTORS , Bank of America , BMO Harris Bank , Byline Bank , Fifth Third Bank , PNC , Wintrust and Seaway Credit Union .
But in response to questions , Lightfoot acknowledged she can ’ t force landlords to follow through and said the pledge is about “ public accountability . ''
Read more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pritzker responds to second lawsuit over his statewide stay-at-home order Pritzker clarified that his order does not prevent state lawmakers from convening in Springfield , and said they are considered “ essential ” under the orders , as are government bodies across the state .
Pritzker has said he would leave decisions about the legislature convening to legislative leaders , though he has said he ’ s suggested they consult with the state Department of Public Health .
“ We need to make sure that all the people who work in the Capitol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the legislators , are safe , ” Pritzker said .
—Jamie Munks 2:40 p.m. : Pritzker says state has distributed 20 million PPE items as new known cases of COVID-19 push Illinois ’ count over 50,000 The state received a federal shipment of PPE on Monday , including more than 300,000 N-95 masks and over 500,000 KN-95 masks , as well as other supplies , Pritzker said in his daily update on Wednesday .
The governor has repeatedly pushed for additional equipment from the federal government , and Pritzker detailed on Wednesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the federal government and orders from suppliers .
State officials also announced 2,253 new known cases of COVID-19 Wednesday , including 92 additional deaths .
The numbers push Illinois ’ known case count over 50,000 , to 50,355 since the pandemic began .
The known death toll related to the new coronavirus in the state is 2,215 , officials said .
Pritzker said the state Department of Public Health has also inked a contract with Quest Diagnostics to run 3,000 tests per day for testing at long term care facilities .
Pritzker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health nurses will be deployed to long-term care facilities as part of a clinical support program to conduct swab testing training , take samples and review and improve hygiene practices and PPE use .
—Jamie Munks 2:30 p.m. : In ‘ The Daily Show ’ appearance , U.S. Sen. Duckworth says Trump ’ s task force to reopen economy has met once for a roughly hour-long call A congressional task force President Donald Trump established to advise the White House on reopening the economy has met virtually just once in the roughly two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a television appearance .
Appearing on an episode of “ The Daily Show with Trevor Noah ” that aired Tuesday night , the junior U.S. senator from Illinois was asked why the public hasn ’ t heard more from the “ Opening Up America Again ” task force .
Duckworth said the group met by phone and the president spent most of the time “ boasting ” about “ how great the testing was going in this country.
” “ Our task force has only met once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an hour — 45 minutes of that hour was spent with President Trump boasting on how great the testing was going in this country , how we had conducted more testing than any other country and that other countries were calling us ( and ) asking us to give them tests , ” Duckworth , a frequent Trump critic , said .
Duckworth and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin , another Illinois Democrat , were among 65 senators named to the working group , which includes a dozen Democrats and all Republican senators except @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to convict Trump in the president ’ s impeachment trial .
Of 32 House members also named to the task force , there are 22 Republicans and 10 Democrats , including Illinois U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis , a Taylorville Republican , the Tribune previously reported .
Duckworth disputes the president ’ s take on the nation ’ s testing efforts , saying that when asked how many tests the country would need to safely reopen the country , “ the Trump administration had no answers.
” “ This is a basic math problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests we need to have , ” Duckworth said , adding : “ You can do the basic math and figure out how many tests you need — and they don ’ t know.
” But by Tuesday , the number of infected detainees at the downtown high-rise jail had dropped to just six , according to the official tally from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons .
So far , the wild swing in the numbers has gone unexplained .
Did initial positive cases turn out to be wrong ?
Does it reflect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the MCC ?
Or has the number dropped as detainees have recovered ?
BOP officials failed to respond to multiple requests from the Chicago Tribune this week for an explanation on how its coronavirus data — which is updated every afternoon on the agency ’ s website — is being tabulated .
One thing is certain : A different tally of MCC cases being kept by federal prosecutors is much higher.Earlier this week , prosecutors said in a court filing that 32 of the roughly 650 inmates at the MCC had tested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of the population .
In addition , 23 staff members were infected , prosecutors said .
So far , no fatalities have been reported .
Prosecutors said their numbers were based on information received directly from MCC officials .
Most of the infected inmates were quarantined in their cells , but at least one inmate has been hospitalized and would not return to the facility until medically cleared to do so , prosecutors said .
Meanwhile , the lack of explanation from the BOP continues to raise alarms in Chicago ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been trying — mostly in vain — to get clients released due to the disease ’ s presumed ability to spread quickly in the MCC ’ s notoriously cramped quarters .
Read more here .
—Jason Meisner 2:06 p.m. : Decision on fate of Lollapalooza summer music festival could be soon Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city should have an update “ shortly ” on whether Lollapalooza will be canceled this summer .
The mayor again was asked about the popular summer festival during an unrelated news conference on Wednesday and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though she didn ’ t say when .
Earlier in the month , Lightfoot said it ’ s too soon to talk about July and August events .
But she has canceled Gospel Fest and Memorial Day events set for May and June .
Read more here .
—Gregory Pratt Protesters who want Gov .
J.B. Pritzker to announce a plan to reopen the Illinois economy have scheduled a Friday rally outside the Thompson Center in the Loop .
“ Illinois residents have tolerated the government ’ s plan for over a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to slowly and safely reopen the state ’ s economy , ” a news release announcing the event states .
“ We need to discuss the process of cautiously returning back to work.
” Read more here .
—John Byrne “ Whether you agree with the governor or disagree with the governor , we believe that a separate but equal branch of government — the General Assembly — should have input in the direction of the state of Illinois , ” said Rep. C.D .
Davidsmeyer of downstate Jacksonville in a video press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a second GOP state representative filed a lawsuit challenging Pritzker ’ s stay-at-home order .
Rep. John Cabello , who filed the action , was not part of the press event , nor was Rep. Darren Bailey , who was exempted from the order by a judge ’ s ruling earlier this week as a result of his lawsuit .
Joining Davidsmeyer in calling for the General Assembly to convene in Springfield , GOP Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva said Pritzker was “ bucking a system of checks and balances ” by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s stay-at-home order .
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act grants the governor emergency powers for 30 days following the declaration of a disaster , but “ beyond that , the statute is silent , ” said Ugaste .
“ It doesn ’ t provide for the governor to extend it , but it also doesn ’ t state how the legislature will be involved.
” If House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon decline to convene the two chambers , Pritzker should request a vote from the General Assembly on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Rep. Norine Hammond of Macomb proposed that the capitol remain closed to public visitors , who could instead livestream the General Assembly proceedings from home .
While gathered in the capitol , lawmakers could protect themselves by “ wearing a mask and using some common sense , ” she said .
—Antonia Ayres-Brown Noon : Chicago area unemployment reached 4.8 % in March as coronavirus took its toll .
Experts say that number will jump in April .
The Chicago area unemployment rate rose to 4.8 % in March , up from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year , as coronavirus economic disruption began to take its toll on the job market .
Nearly two-thirds of metropolitan areas across the U.S. saw higher year-over-year unemployment rates last month , according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics .
The national unemployment rate in March was 4.5 % , not seasonally adjusted , up from 3.9 % a year earlier .
Read more here .
—Robert Channick 11:18 a.m. : Experimental drug remdesivir proved effective against COVID-19 in major study , drugmaker Gilead says A biotech company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test .
Gilead Sciences ’ s remdesivir would be the first treatment to pass such a test against the virus , which has killed more than 218,000 people since it emerged late last year .
Having a treatment could have a profound effect on the global pandemic , especially because health officials say any vaccine is likely a year or more away .
The study , run by the National Institutes of Health , tested remdesivir versus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients around the world .
The main result is how long it takes patients to recover .
Gilead gave no details on results Wednesday , but said an announcement is expected soon .
NIH officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment .
Read more here .
—Associated Press 10:45 a.m. : 52 people who worked or voted on election day in Wisconsin tested positive for COVID-19 .
There ’ s no plan for changes in upcoming special election .
There are no plans to postpone or otherwise alter a special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than two weeks away , even though more than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during the state 's presidential primary this month have tested positive for COVID-19 .
Democratic Gov .
Tony Evers tried to change the April 7 election so that it would be conducted entirely by mail , but he was blocked by the Republican-led Legislature and conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court .
Evers and others had warned that allowing in-person voting would cause a spike in coronavirus cases , but so far the impact appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who have tested positive and were at the polls on April 7 also reported other ways they may have been exposed to the virus , the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Tuesday .
Because of that , it ’ s unclear if those people contracted the virus at the polls .
The 52 positive cases were in people who tested positive in the two weeks after the election , so by April 21 .
Most people show symptoms within 14 days of exposure , though some people who have the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more here .
—Associated Press The order signed Tuesday uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken , pork and other meat on supermarket shelves .
Unions fired back , saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers ’ health .
More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pressure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus , including two of the nation 's largest , one in Iowa and one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick .
“ Such closures threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain , undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency , '' the order states .
It wasn ’ t immediately clear what the order means for the three Illinois meat processing plants that closed last week .
Read more here .
—Associated Press 9:25 a.m. : Voices of the pandemic : How the coronavirus changes the lives of Chicagoans , in their own words Ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forefront of our everyday lives , Chicagoans have been stepping up .
Their stories have inspired us , compelled us to give back , and kept us going through uncharted waters .
Here ’ s what Chicago had to say this week on how we ’ re living in the time of COVID-19 .
Read more here .
6:45 a.m. : Divvy extends free rides for health care workers , lower charges for others Divvy was expected to announce Wednesday it will extend to the end of May its offer of free rides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for other Chicago residents , according to the Chicago mayor ’ s office .
People with low incomes are eligible for $ 5 annual memberships under the company ’ s Divvy for Everyone program , called D4E .
Under the program being offered during the state ’ s coronavirus stay-at-home order and being extended Wednesday , other Chicagoans can take $ 1 short rides and become annual Divvy members for $ 49.50 , according to a news release from Mayor Lori Lightfoot ’ s office .
The short rides usually are $ 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
More information for health care companies wanting to join the program for health care workers can email herobikes @ lyft.com ; more information about discounts and joining with D4E membership is available at the company ’ s website , divvybikes.com .
—Chicago Tribune staff ENERGY , Ill. — A southern Illinois village police chief is expressing skepticism about Gov .
J.B. Pritzker ’ s power to issue stay-at-home orders to combat the coronavirus pandemic .
In a letter last week to residents of the village of Energy , Police Chief Shawn Ladd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interest in enforcing any rules , declarations or proclamations that morally or technically violate provisions of the federal or state constitutions .
Ladd told The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale nothing requires him or his officers to enforce the executive orders , first issued in March and extended through May .
`` He can make suggestions , ’ ’ Ladd said of his understanding of the governor ’ s powers in an emergency .
Ladd backs his views with an opinion made in an internal memo by David Robinson , deputy director of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Office to the office ’ s director , Patrick Delfino .
Robinson said he wasn ’ t sure courts would uphold Pritzker ’ s limitations on restaurants , bars , public and private gatherings .
Sheila Simon , an assistant professor of law at Southern Illinois University assistant professor of law Sheila Simon is questioning Ladd ’ s and Robinson ’ s position .
“ My thoughts are that the governor does have emergency powers and they are pretty broad , ” she said , adding the state ’ s Emergency Management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governor a lot of leeway .
“ It does seem to be tailored to keeping us from harming each other , ” she said of Pritzker ’ s COVID-19 orders .
Ladd ’ s position that the governor is overreaching is similar to that of Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey who obtained a temporary order exempting him from the directives .
Pritzker on Tuesday denounced Bailey of Xenia , also in southern Illinois , calling his legal actions a `` cheap political stunt.
” The governor ’ s comment came as Illinois officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , bringing the total number to 2,125 .
—Associated Press 6 a.m. : Medline wants FDA approval to sterilize N95 masks with ethylene oxide .
Two other federal agencies are against it , citing cancer risks for health care workers .
Summoned to the White House last month with other medical suppliers responding to the severe shortage of protective gear for health care workers , Medline Industries CEO Charlie Mills announced the company had good news .
Northfield-based Medline already was reprocessing 100,000 masks a day used by doctors and nurses on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mills told President Donald Trump and others in the Cabinet Room .
Though masks typically are certified for one use only , Mills said , Medline could rapidly decontaminate used masks at its plant in north suburban Waukegan and send them back to hospitals and clinics across the nation .
The company ’ s efforts would buy medical workers time while manufacturers increase production of new masks , he said .
“ I think that is fantastic , ” Trump said later the same day after Mills summarized his plan during the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House press corps .
What Mills failed to mention is Medline ’ s process relies on ethylene oxide , a germ-killing gas that researchers have found can damage the brain and raise the risk of breast cancer , leukemia and lymphomas at extremely low levels of exposure .
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 3M , a leading mask manufacturer , strongly discourage the use of ethylene oxide for decontaminating masks , in particular N95 respirators needed by virus fighters .
Last week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ masks could be considered a violation of federal workplace standards .
Doctors and nurses protecting themselves from the virus could end up being exposed to a potent carcinogen and neurotoxin , according to the CDC , 3M and OSHA .
Read more here .
—Michael Hawthorne Here are five things that happened Tuesday that you need to know : Here are five things that happened Monday that you need to know :

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Paca Kujtim of Arlington Heights self-administers a COVID-19 test in his car at the Arlington International Racecourse on March 31, 2021 in Arlington Heights. Kujtim was getting testing as a precaution for upcoming travel. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
State officials Wednesday reported another 92 deaths in Illinois related to the coronavirus, as the statewide death toll reached 2,215. Officials also announced 2,253 new known cases of COVID-19, bringing total to 50,355. That’s the sixth time in the past seven days that the number of new cases has topped 2,000.
The new numbers came as Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s extension of a statewide stay-at-home order continued to face pushback, with a second Republican state lawmaker challenging the order in a lawsuit accusing the governor of creating “a police state.” Pritzker called the new lawsuit “another attempt at grandstanding.”
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[ COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood ]
[ As the coronavirus spreads, the Tribune is tracking Illinois cases here ]
[ From closing schools to stay-at-home order, here's how Illinois' coronavirus response compares with other states ]
Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:45 p.m.: He was supposed to retire Thursday after 34 years as a surgical tech. Instead, he died Monday after testing positive for coronavirus.
After decades of scrubbing in on surgeries as a surgical technologist, Juan Martinez was looking forward to retirement. He planned to travel with his wife and spend more time with his grandchildren.
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His final work day was scheduled for April 30.
He was so dedicated to his job that he kept working even as the coronavirus crisis coincided with the final weeks before his retirement.
He died days before reaching it.
“My dad was a very dedicated man to work,” said his son, Juan Martinez Jr., who was so enthralled by his father’s zest for his work that he, too, chose the same career. “He was so passionate.”
Father and son worked together at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. On Monday, Martinez, 60, died after testing positive for the coronavirus.
“He just didn’t make it,” said Martinez Jr. Read more here. —Alison Bowen
7:29 p.m.: Viral video of Chicago house party reveals disconnect between black youth and media during coronavirus
House parties are meant to be a thing of the past now that COVID-19 has turned into a pandemic.
But on April 25, a viral video showed a Galewood gathering of dozens of people at a memorial party for two friends who died of gun violence years ago. The video drew such a level of nationwide vitriol on social media that Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the revelers as “foolish and reckless,” and Gov. J.B. Pritzker criticized the partygoers for “putting everyone around you in danger.” (Tribune columnist, Dahleen Glanton, wrote an open letter to the black kids who partied, citing the reality of killing loved ones “without even knowing that you are carrying a weapon.”) Chicago police have subsequently said they cited the homeowner with disorderly conduct Monday.
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With so much conversation about the event, The Triibe, a digital media platform that tells stories of black Chicago, sought to find the disconnect between local government officials, black youth and traditional media outlets in conveying the serious nature of the coronavirus. In her article, Veronica Harrison (aka Vee L. Harrison), talks to a young woman at the party. The woman told Harrison she knows COVID-19 is serious, but she’s not letting fear win out over her faith.
The partygoer told Harrison: “I get irritated with these celebrities trying to tell us to stay in the house. Us people that aren’t as rich as them, we don’t have nothing to do in the house. Sometimes this can cause you to go into boredom and depression and you have to get out, you have to get some air.”
Harrison said her phone has not left her hand since the Triibe story went live Tuesday night. Read more here. —Darcel Rockett
6:10 p.m.: River Grove firefighter, apparently recovered from COVID-19, suffers fatal stroke
A River Grove firefighter and paramedic who had tested positive for COVID-19 but appeared to be on the mend died early Wednesday from a stroke, officials said.
Robert “David” Reisinger, 57, who had been with the department for nearly 18 years and was the longtime EMS system coordinator at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, became ill several weeks ago along with a co-worker who had been on the same ambulance, fire Chief Sean Flynn said.
Reisinger had gotten better and was scheduled to return to work Wednesday, Flynn said, but suffered a stroke Monday. The Cook County medical examiner’s office does not list COVID-19 as a factor in Reisinger’s death, but researchers have found links between the virus and some types of strokes. His husband, Kuanwu Lin, does not consider the two events to be coincidental.
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“It’s still unpredictable what this virus will do to a human body,” said Lin, a psychologist who is also recovering from COVID-19. “We are still learning about it. ... If this was related to COVID-19, then it makes this virus even more powerful, and therefore we cannot be too cautious.” Read more here. —John Keilman
5:55 p.m.: Suburban distillery joins the pivot to making hand sanitizer
Highwood vodka-maker 28 Mile Distilling Co. is joining the ranks of Chicagoland distilleries lending their facilities to the production of hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The distillery, named for its 28-mile distance from Chicago, will donate the hand sanitizer — which includes nearly 12,000 16-ounce bottles — to the Chicago Police Department. It’s the largest donation of sanitizer that the department has received yet.
The key ingredient in hand sanitizers is neutral grain spirit, which is essentially vodka. The spirit is combined with glycerin and hydrogen peroxide to make hand sanitizer. Distilleries across the Chicago area and the nation have been pivoting to make the sanitizer during the pandemic.
The approximately 1,400 gallons of 28 Mile Distilling Co. product will be distributed to officers Thursday at the Police Academy. —Adam Lukach
5:36 p.m.: Trump order keeps meatpacking plants open, but effect on Illinois facilities is uncertain
President Donald Trump has ordered meat processing plants to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic even as they have emerged as hotspots for worker illnesses in Illinois and elsewhere, laying bare the challenge of keeping the nation’s food supply chain intact while protecting workers on crowded production lines.
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Trump, in an executive order signed Tuesday, invoked the Defense Production Act to prevent meat plant closures, saying they “threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency." Unions and workers rights advocates said the action jeopardizes worker safety.
The order came as COVID-19 cases prompted a growing number of major slaughterhouses and meat processing facilities to temporarily shut down, sometimes under pressure from local authorities. The closures have sent ripples across the supply chain as farmers lost markets for their livestock and grocers braced for a shortage of meat on their shelves.
More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily over the past two months, including three in Illinois that shuttered last week. It wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday what the order means for those facilities.
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, indefinitely shuttered a large pork plant in Monmouth Friday after a “small portion” of its 1,700 employees tested positive for COVID-19, and it closed a smaller plant in St. Charles, where 325 people work, on orders from the Kane County Health Department to improve social distancing and take other safety measures.
Hormel closed an 800-worker plant in Rochelle that makes bacon and deli meats on orders from the Ogle County Health Department, with plans to reopen May 4.
Monmouth Mayor Rod Davies said he is eager to see work resume at the Smithfield plant, which is a huge employer in his town of about 10,000 people, but is concerned about doing it in a way that keeps workers safe. Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
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4:50 p.m.: Illinois AG files appeal in State Rep. Darren Bailey’s lawsuit over stay-at-home order
The Illinois attorney general’s office filed an appellate court brief Wednesday seeking to overturn a southern Illinois judge’s ruling that temporarily exempts a Republican state representative from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order.
State Rep. Darren Bailey request for a personal exemption from the order “besides being dangerous — is flawed as a matter of law,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office argues in the filing with Illinois 5th District Appellate Court.
The filing comes two days after a Clay County judge issued a temporary order freeing Bailey from Pritzker’s directive, which is aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus. Read more here. —Dan Petrella
3:57 p.m.: Illinois delays awarding 75 licenses for new marijuana dispensaries
The state will delay awarding licenses for 75 new recreational marijuana dispensaries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Applications for the licenses were due Jan. 1 and were set to be awarded May 1. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which regulates dispensaries, said Wednesday that it will not award the licenses until the end of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation, or until the state announces another date.
The licenses offer the first path into Illinois’ burgeoning marijuana industry for people who didn’t already operate a cannabis facility. Though recreational sales started in the state Jan. 1, only existing operators were allowed to participate.
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The delay means those existing operators will continue to control Illinois’ marijuana market, which has delivered some of the highest first months of revenue in the nation. Customers spent about $110.2 million on legal weed in the first three months of sales.
It is unclear how long the new dispensaries will be delayed in opening. Once the state does award a license, the recipient has 180 days to find a location for the dispensary. The state must then inspect the location. Read more here. —Ally Marotti
3:26 p.m.: Facing ongoing ridership drop, Metra cuts service on three of its least busy lines
Faced with an ongoing ridership slump due to the coronavirus pandemic, Metra is sharply cutting service on its three least busy lines starting Monday, May 4.
On the Heritage Corridor, which runs between Union Station and Joliet, and the North Central Service, which goes between Union Station and Antioch, the schedule will be reduced to one inbound trip in the morning and one outbound trip in the evening, Metra said in a news release on Wednesday.
On the SouthWest Service, which runs between Union Station and Manhattan, Illinois, there will be two inbound trips in the morning and two outbound trips in the evening, Metra said.
The cuts come on top of cuts already made to Metra’s weekday schedule last month. The new schedules can be viewed at metrarail.com. The Heritage Corridor currently has three inbound and four outbound trains, while the North Central has seven trains in each direction. The SouthWest Service has ten trains in each direction. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
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3:09 p.m.: Police to issue citation in connection with wedding party in West Rogers Park
Chicago police will be issuing a citation in connection with a party at a West Rogers Park residence that spilled into the street last week, prompting police to break up the crowd for violating stay-at-home orders.
The party, first reported by Block Club Chicago, was recorded on video and showed a few dozen revelers dancing to loud music at an Orthodox Jewish wedding party outside a home at Farwell and Francisco avenues. Some people in the video could be seen wearing masks, but the crowd was too large to allow for following rules on social distancing.
Chicago police have said officers responded to the gathering shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday, dispersed the crowd and left the scene without issuing any citations. But on Wednesday, Chicago police said a citation would be issued, though a spokesman could not immediately provide specifics.
At the same time, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during an afternoon news conference that enforcement action would be taken in connection with the wedding party in the same fashion that police took action with the owner of a Northwest Side home, where viral video showed dozens of young African-American party-goers in close quarters who also were not practicing social distancing.
“They should be treated exactly the same," Lightfoot said in reference to the wedding party nearly a week ago. “And we are making sure that we identify whose responsible and we will be taking the same kind of decisive action against that large wedding where the video shows people in cars, but people in the street not social distancing, not wearing appropriate mask or garb.
”We can’t tolerate it anywhere. It’s not just the black millennials. It’s a problem wherever it rears its head. We’re going to move decisively to, again, help educate, but where necessary, take action to give citations to the people who are responsible.”
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The announcement of the enforcement action at the West Rogers Park party comes two days after Chicago police ticketed the owner of the Northwest Side residence in the 2000 block of North Narragansett Avenue in the Galewood neighborhood. That party occurred some time over the weekend, and while police broke up that large gathering there were initially no citations issued.
The two parties occurred in areas of Chicago with among the highest numbers of positive COVID-19 cases. Read more here. —Jeremy Gorner and Gregory Pratt
3:02 p.m.: Mayor Lori Lightfoot encourages landlords and tenants to work together amid coronavirus-related financial crunch
Under pressure from activists and elected officials calling for rent relief and other measures to help struggling tenants, Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a “Chicago Housing Solidarity Pledge” encouraging landlords and renters to work together through the coronavirus pandemic.
The pledge, which Lightfoot outlined at City Hall on Wednesday, calls for landlords to consider grace period for rent payments, written repayment plans and no late fees. It also calls for housing lenders to agree to grace periods on mortgage payments, neutral reporting to credit agencies and suspension of foreclosures for certain mortgage holders “who demonstrate a significant financial impact from the pandemic.”
Signatories to the mayor’s pledge include the Chicagoland Apartment Association, Chicago Association of REALTORS, Bank of America, BMO Harris Bank, Byline Bank, Fifth Third Bank, PNC, Wintrust and Seaway Credit Union.
But in response to questions, Lightfoot acknowledged she can’t force landlords to follow through and said the pledge is about “public accountability." Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
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2:56 p.m.: Pritzker responds to second lawsuit over his statewide stay-at-home order
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday called a second lawsuit brought by a Republican state lawmaker challenging the extension of his statewide stay-at-home order “another attempt at grandstanding.”
State Rep. John Cabello filed a lawsuit Wednesday morning.
“I think it’s a similarly irresponsible lawsuit,” Pritzker said at his briefing Wednesday.
Pritzker clarified that his order does not prevent state lawmakers from convening in Springfield, and said they are considered “essential” under the orders, as are government bodies across the state.
Pritzker has said he would leave decisions about the legislature convening to legislative leaders, though he has said he’s suggested they consult with the state Department of Public Health.
“We need to make sure that all the people who work in the Capitol for those legislators, as well as all the legislators, are safe,” Pritzker said. —Jamie Munks
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2:40 p.m.: Pritzker says state has distributed 20 million PPE items as new known cases of COVID-19 push Illinois’ count over 50,000
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday the state has distributed nearly 20 million items of personal protective equipment to local public health departments, nursing homes and hospitals statewide.
The state received a federal shipment of PPE on Monday, including more than 300,000 N-95 masks and over 500,000 KN-95 masks, as well as other supplies, Pritzker said in his daily update on Wednesday.
The governor has repeatedly pushed for additional equipment from the federal government, and Pritzker detailed on Wednesday the state’s still outstanding requests from the federal government and orders from suppliers.
State officials also announced 2,253 new known cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, including 92 additional deaths. The numbers push Illinois’ known case count over 50,000, to 50,355 since the pandemic began. The known death toll related to the new coronavirus in the state is 2,215, officials said.
Pritzker said the state Department of Public Health has also inked a contract with Quest Diagnostics to run 3,000 tests per day for testing at long term care facilities.
Pritzker also announced that state Department of Public Health nurses will be deployed to long-term care facilities as part of a clinical support program to conduct swab testing training, take samples and review and improve hygiene practices and PPE use. —Jamie Munks
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2:30 p.m.: In ‘The Daily Show’ appearance, U.S. Sen. Duckworth says Trump’s task force to reopen economy has met once for a roughly hour-long call
A congressional task force President Donald Trump established to advise the White House on reopening the economy has met virtually just once in the roughly two weeks since it was created, Democratic U.S Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a television appearance.
Appearing on an episode of “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” that aired Tuesday night, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois was asked why the public hasn’t heard more from the “Opening Up America Again” task force. Duckworth said the group met by phone and the president spent most of the time “boasting” about “how great the testing was going in this country.”
“Our task force has only met once, we had one phone call for an hour — 45 minutes of that hour was spent with President Trump boasting on how great the testing was going in this country, how we had conducted more testing than any other country and that other countries were calling us (and) asking us to give them tests,” Duckworth, a frequent Trump critic, said.
Duckworth and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, another Illinois Democrat, were among 65 senators named to the working group, which includes a dozen Democrats and all Republican senators except Mitt Romney of Utah. Romney voted to convict Trump in the president’s impeachment trial.
Of 32 House members also named to the task force, there are 22 Republicans and 10 Democrats, including Illinois U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Taylorville Republican, the Tribune previously reported. Duckworth disputes the president’s take on the nation’s testing efforts, saying that when asked how many tests the country would need to safely reopen the country, “the Trump administration had no answers.”
“This is a basic math problem, you need to know how many tests we need to have,” Duckworth said, adding: “You can do the basic math and figure out how many tests you need — and they don’t know.”
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The president’s communications staff didn’t offer an immediate response to Duckworth’s criticism. Read more here. —Lisa Donovan
2:09 p.m.: Wild swing in coronavirus numbers reported at Chicago’s federal jail goes unexplained, leaves lawyers skeptical
A week ago, federal prison officials reported that 20 inmates at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center had tested positive for the coronavirus.
But by Tuesday, the number of infected detainees at the downtown high-rise jail had dropped to just six, according to the official tally from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
So far, the wild swing in the numbers has gone unexplained. Did initial positive cases turn out to be wrong? Does it reflect that sick inmates are being moved out of the MCC? Or has the number dropped as detainees have recovered?
BOP officials failed to respond to multiple requests from the Chicago Tribune this week for an explanation on how its coronavirus data — which is updated every afternoon on the agency’s website — is being tabulated.
One thing is certain: A different tally of MCC cases being kept by federal prosecutors is much higher.Earlier this week, prosecutors said in a court filing that 32 of the roughly 650 inmates at the MCC had tested positive for COVID-19, representing about 5% of the population. In addition, 23 staff members were infected, prosecutors said. So far, no fatalities have been reported.
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Prosecutors said their numbers were based on information received directly from MCC officials. Most of the infected inmates were quarantined in their cells, but at least one inmate has been hospitalized and would not return to the facility until medically cleared to do so, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, the lack of explanation from the BOP continues to raise alarms in Chicago’s legal community, where criminal defense attorneys have been trying — mostly in vain — to get clients released due to the disease’s presumed ability to spread quickly in the MCC’s notoriously cramped quarters. Read more here. —Jason Meisner
2:06 p.m.: Decision on fate of Lollapalooza summer music festival could be soon
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city should have an update “shortly” on whether Lollapalooza will be canceled this summer.
The mayor again was asked about the popular summer festival during an unrelated news conference on Wednesday and said a decision would be announced shortly, though she didn’t say when. Earlier in the month, Lightfoot said it’s too soon to talk about July and August events. But she has canceled Gospel Fest and Memorial Day events set for May and June. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
12:55 p.m.: Reopen Illinois rally planned for Loop this Friday
Protesters who want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to announce a plan to reopen the Illinois economy have scheduled a Friday rally outside the Thompson Center in the Loop.
“Illinois residents have tolerated the government’s plan for over a month — without a plan on how to slowly and safely reopen the state’s economy,” a news release announcing the event states. “We need to discuss the process of cautiously returning back to work.” Read more here. —John Byrne
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12:51 p.m.: Republican lawmakers say Pritzker’s exceeding his authority with stay-at-home extension
Three Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker for allegedly exceeding his emergency powers by extending Illinois’ stay-at-home order past 30 days without legislative approval.
“Whether you agree with the governor or disagree with the governor, we believe that a separate but equal branch of government — the General Assembly — should have input in the direction of the state of Illinois,” said Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of downstate Jacksonville in a video press conference.
The press conference took place as a second GOP state representative filed a lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. Rep. John Cabello, who filed the action, was not part of the press event, nor was Rep. Darren Bailey, who was exempted from the order by a judge’s ruling earlier this week as a result of his lawsuit.
Joining Davidsmeyer in calling for the General Assembly to convene in Springfield, GOP Rep. Dan Ugaste of Geneva said Pritzker was “bucking a system of checks and balances” by acting alone in extending the state’s stay-at-home order.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act grants the governor emergency powers for 30 days following the declaration of a disaster, but “beyond that, the statute is silent,” said Ugaste. “It doesn’t provide for the governor to extend it, but it also doesn’t state how the legislature will be involved.”
If House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon decline to convene the two chambers, Pritzker should request a vote from the General Assembly on the stay-at-home order extension, Ugaste said.
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Rep. Norine Hammond of Macomb proposed that the capitol remain closed to public visitors, who could instead livestream the General Assembly proceedings from home. While gathered in the capitol, lawmakers could protect themselves by “wearing a mask and using some common sense,” she said. —Antonia Ayres-Brown
Noon: Chicago area unemployment reached 4.8% in March as coronavirus took its toll. Experts say that number will jump in April.
The Chicago area unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in March, up from 4.2% during the same month last year, as coronavirus economic disruption began to take its toll on the job market.
Labor economists expect that number to get a lot bigger in April.
Nearly two-thirds of metropolitan areas across the U.S. saw higher year-over-year unemployment rates last month, according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The national unemployment rate in March was 4.5%, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.9% a year earlier. Read more here. —Robert Channick
11:18 a.m.: Experimental drug remdesivir proved effective against COVID-19 in major study, drugmaker Gilead says
A biotech company says its experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major U.S. government study that put it to a strict test.
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Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir would be the first treatment to pass such a test against the virus, which has killed more than 218,000 people since it emerged late last year. Having a treatment could have a profound effect on the global pandemic, especially because health officials say any vaccine is likely a year or more away.
The study, run by the National Institutes of Health, tested remdesivir versus usual care in about 800 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. The main result is how long it takes patients to recover.
Gilead gave no details on results Wednesday, but said an announcement is expected soon. NIH officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Read more here. —Associated Press
10:45 a.m.: 52 people who worked or voted on election day in Wisconsin tested positive for COVID-19. There’s no plan for changes in upcoming special election.
There are no plans to postpone or otherwise alter a special congressional election in Wisconsin that is less than two weeks away, even though more than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during the state's presidential primary this month have tested positive for COVID-19.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to change the April 7 election so that it would be conducted entirely by mail, but he was blocked by the Republican-led Legislature and conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court. Evers and others had warned that allowing in-person voting would cause a spike in coronavirus cases, but so far the impact appears to be limited.
Several of the 52 people who have tested positive and were at the polls on April 7 also reported other ways they may have been exposed to the virus, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Tuesday. Because of that, it’s unclear if those people contracted the virus at the polls.
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The 52 positive cases were in people who tested positive in the two weeks after the election, so by April 21. Most people show symptoms within 14 days of exposure, though some people who have the virus don’t show symptoms. Read more here. —Associated Press
10:18 a.m.: Second GOP state representative files lawsuit challenging Pritzker’s stay-at-home order
Republican State Rep. John Cabello filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, the second GOP representative to sue over the governor’s directive.
The lawsuit, filed in Winnebago County Circuit Court, asks a judge to block the stay-at-home order Pritzker issued March 20 or any similar measures from being enforced on Cabello and “all citizens similarly situated.”
Illinois has been under a statewide stay-at-home order since March 21, which was originally set to expire April 7. Pritzker extended the order, which has an array of exceptions, through April 30. Read more here. —Jamie Munks
10:17 a.m.: Trump order keeps meatpacking plants open, but unions say workers unsafe
President Donald Trump took executive action to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply.
The order signed Tuesday uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health.
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More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pressure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus, including two of the nation's largest, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota. Others have slowed production as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick.
“Such closures threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency," the order states.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the order means for the three Illinois meat processing plants that closed last week. Read more here. —Associated Press
9:25 a.m.: Voices of the pandemic: How the coronavirus changes the lives of Chicagoans, in their own words
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic rose to the forefront of our everyday lives, Chicagoans have been stepping up. Their stories have inspired us, compelled us to give back, and kept us going through uncharted waters.
Here’s what Chicago had to say this week on how we’re living in the time of COVID-19. Read more here.
6:45 a.m.: Divvy extends free rides for health care workers, lower charges for others
Divvy was expected to announce Wednesday it will extend to the end of May its offer of free rides for health care workers and lower rates for other Chicago residents, according to the Chicago mayor’s office.
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People with low incomes are eligible for $5 annual memberships under the company’s Divvy for Everyone program, called D4E. Under the program being offered during the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order and being extended Wednesday, other Chicagoans can take $1 short rides and become annual Divvy members for $49.50, according to a news release from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office. The short rides usually are $3 and annual membership usually is $99.
More information for health care companies wanting to join the program for health care workers can email herobikes@lyft.com; more information about discounts and joining with D4E membership is available at the company’s website, divvybikes.com. —Chicago Tribune staff
6:15 a.m.: Southern Illinois police chief questions Pritzker’s powers, stay-home orders
ENERGY, Ill. — A southern Illinois village police chief is expressing skepticism about Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s power to issue stay-at-home orders to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter last week to residents of the village of Energy, Police Chief Shawn Ladd says he and his department have no interest in enforcing any rules, declarations or proclamations that morally or technically violate provisions of the federal or state constitutions. Ladd told The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale nothing requires him or his officers to enforce the executive orders, first issued in March and extended through May.
"He can make suggestions,’’ Ladd said of his understanding of the governor’s powers in an emergency.
Ladd backs his views with an opinion made in an internal memo by David Robinson, deputy director of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office to the office’s director, Patrick Delfino. Robinson said he wasn’t sure courts would uphold Pritzker’s limitations on restaurants, bars, public and private gatherings.
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Sheila Simon, an assistant professor of law at Southern Illinois University assistant professor of law Sheila Simon is questioning Ladd’s and Robinson’s position.
“My thoughts are that the governor does have emergency powers and they are pretty broad,” she said, adding the state’s Emergency Management Act and other state laws gives the governor a lot of leeway.
“It does seem to be tailored to keeping us from harming each other,” she said of Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders.
Ladd’s position that the governor is overreaching is similar to that of Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey who obtained a temporary order exempting him from the directives.
Pritzker on Tuesday denounced Bailey of Xenia, also in southern Illinois, calling his legal actions a "cheap political stunt.” The governor’s comment came as Illinois officials reported another 144 deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the total number to 2,125. —Associated Press
6 a.m.: Medline wants FDA approval to sterilize N95 masks with ethylene oxide. Two other federal agencies are against it, citing cancer risks for health care workers.
Summoned to the White House last month with other medical suppliers responding to the severe shortage of protective gear for health care workers, Medline Industries CEO Charlie Mills announced the company had good news.
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Northfield-based Medline already was reprocessing 100,000 masks a day used by doctors and nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mills told President Donald Trump and others in the Cabinet Room.
Though masks typically are certified for one use only, Mills said, Medline could rapidly decontaminate used masks at its plant in north suburban Waukegan and send them back to hospitals and clinics across the nation. The company’s efforts would buy medical workers time while manufacturers increase production of new masks, he said.
“I think that is fantastic,” Trump said later the same day after Mills summarized his plan during the president’s March 29 appearance before the White House press corps.
What Mills failed to mention is Medline’s process relies on ethylene oxide, a germ-killing gas that researchers have found can damage the brain and raise the risk of breast cancer, leukemia and lymphomas at extremely low levels of exposure.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 3M, a leading mask manufacturer, strongly discourage the use of ethylene oxide for decontaminating masks, in particular N95 respirators needed by virus fighters. Last week the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded that giving health care personnel EtO-treated masks could be considered a violation of federal workplace standards.
Doctors and nurses protecting themselves from the virus could end up being exposed to a potent carcinogen and neurotoxin, according to the CDC, 3M and OSHA. Read more here. —Michael Hawthorne
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