Citing a dramatic increase in the number of coronavirus cases since the start of October, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday threatened to reimpose stricter guidelines on businesses.
The mayor didn’t specify what measures she would turn to if COVID-19 cases continue to rise and said she hopes to avoid more painful steps. But, she said, she will if the cases continue rising. She asked residents to stop having dinner parties and card games, noting that people are letting their guards down and getting sick as a result.
Meanwhile, Illinois health officials announced 3,113 new known cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 347,161 and the statewide death toll to 9,236 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 48,684 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 5.4%.
In the afternoon, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced southern Illinois will be the latest region to have its reopening scaled back after reaching a state-set COVID-19 positivity rate threshold, while warning that “in Illinois, it looks like a new wave could be upon us.”
“Every region of the state has started to move in the wrong direction,” Pritzker said at a news conference in southern Illinois. “Cases, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths are rising statewide.”
Two other regions appear on the brink of seeing some businesses limited and gathering caps halved. The region that includes DuPage and Kane counties had surpassed an 8% positivity rate for two consecutive days, with public health officials reporting an 8.5% positivity rate for the region on Monday.
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Here’s what’s happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
7:40 p.m.: Chicago police union offices closed after official tests positive for COVID-19
The offices of the Chicago police’s largest union were closed Monday after one of its officials tested positive for COVID-19, the union said.
The offices of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 at 1412 W. Washington Blvd. will be closed until further notice due to the test result.
The FOP represents thousands of rank-and-file Chicago police officers. Police Superintendent David Brown has said he expects more than 1,000 Chicago cops to have tested positive for coronavirus by the end of the year.
“Due to Covid-19 related issues, the FOP offices will be closed until further notice,” the union said on its web site. “The phone lines will still be operational for EMERGENCY purposes only(ie, OIS (officer-involved shootings), or accidents with serious injuries).”
—Jeremy Gorner
5:40 p.m.: Illinois community colleges see big drop in enrollment amid the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting national declines in higher education
Enrollment at Illinois community colleges plunged nearly 14% this fall, an indication that low-income and older students who typically favor the institutions might be struggling to pursue higher education because of the coronavirus pandemic.
All but three of the state’s 48 community colleges saw substantial headcount declines, according to initial data from the Illinois Community College Board. Compared to last year, about 37,200 fewer students enrolled in for-credit classes this fall. Some of the biggest drops were among students over age 30 and in career-track courses such as nursing, construction and welding.
The preliminary data, collected in an online survey at the end of class registration, mirrors national trends. The latest analysis by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows community colleges are suffering the greatest losses, with first-year students down nearly 23%. Countrywide, undergraduate enrollment declined about 4% across all colleges and universities.
In Illinois, community colleges serve a significant population of minority and first-generation students, said Brian Durham, executive director of the ICCB.
Many of these students already face financial or technological hurdles, which have only worsened during the pandemic, Durham said. Enrollment for African American and Latino students were down about 19% compared to a 12% decrease for white students, Durham said.
“Even those that might enroll virtually, they may have a challenge getting access to a computer,” Durham said. “They may have a challenge having enough computers to also allow their children to do virtual instruction. Or of course, it could be that people have lost jobs, or they are having housing challenges.”
Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
3:34 p.m.: With a ‘new wave’ of coronavirus, Pritzker places southern Illinois under tighter restrictions; four Chicago area counties, including DuPage and Kane, could be next
Southern Illinois is the latest region to have its reopening scaled back after reaching a state-set COVID-19 positivity rate threshold, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday, while warning that “in Illinois, it looks like a new wave could be upon us.”
“Every region of the state has started to move in the wrong direction,” Pritzker said at a news conference in southern Illinois. “Cases, positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths are rising statewide.”
On Thursday, southern Illinois will join the northwestern region of the state in being ordered to scale back its reopening, effective Thursday. When regions reach a positivity rate of 8% or higher for three consecutive days, Pritzker’s administration has ordered indoor dining and bar service shuttered, gathering limits set at 25, down from 50 in the state’s reopening plan.
Two other regions appear on the brink of seeing some businesses limited and gathering caps halved. The region that includes DuPage and Kane counties had surpassed an 8% positivity rate for two consecutive days, with public health officials reporting an 8.5% positivity rate for the region on Monday.
The region that includes Will and Kankakee counties had also surpassed that threshold, with the state reporting an 8.3% positivity rate there on Monday, the second consecutive day that region saw a rate above 8%. That region saw its reopening scaled back in September, but the region was returned to the rules under Pritzker’s phase four reopening plan, after its rate dropped to under 6.5% for three days in a row.
The seven-day statewide positivity rate continues to rise, and stood at 5.4% for the weeklong period ending Sunday. To date, the state is reporting 347,161 known cases of coronavirus and 9,236 deaths since the pandemic began.
The statewide positivity rate was 4.3% a week earlier, and it stood at 3.5% on Oct. 1.
Read more here. —Jamie Munks
1 p.m.: Surge of COVID-19 cases across the state prompts New Trier High School to again postpone return to campus
Officials at New Trier High School are postponing an anticipated return to campus citing the recent surge of COVID-19 cases across Illinois.
After reopening for just one week, the high school’s campuses in Winnetka and Northfield closed last Monday, as officials put their 25% Hybrid Plan on hold.
While officials had indicated they could potentially resume in-person student instruction this week, in an Oct. 16 parent letter, New Trier Superintendent Paul Sally said given the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the township and across the state, the halt of hybrid instruction will remain in place for the week of Oct. 19.
“As in the previous week, our pause this week is due to the continued seriousness of the COVID-19 numbers across Illinois and in our community, not the number of New Trier student and staff cases,” Sally said.
In addition, Sally announced that parents are invited to an Oct. 22 webinar related to the high school’s launch of a voluntary, weekly COVID-19 saliva screening program for students and staff, which was recently approved by the school board.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
12:04 p.m.: 3,113 new known COVID-19 cases and 22 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Monday announced 3,113 new known cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 347,161 and the statewide death toll to 9,236 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 48,684 new tests in the last 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 5.4%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
11:52 a.m.: Applications open for restaurant worker relief fund
Online applications opened Monday for the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, which aims to support restaurant industry workers with a one-time grant of $500 per person for rent, food, utilities and other living expenses to those who qualify.
Priority is given to workers with COVID-19 or who are caring for an immediate family member with COVID-19, or have been unemployed for three weeks or more without unemployment benefits, the IRA announced. The relief fund was announced in August. Applicants should have proof of Illinois residency, a pay stub from the last place of employment where they worked for at least 90 days, and a doctor’s note, as all are required as part of the application process.
The fund is supported by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Telemundo, Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, EMPLOYERS, Chicago Gourmet’s Hamburger Hop and Go Gourmet dinner and virtual events, plus private donations and corporate sponsorships. So far, more than $150,000 has been raised for the fund.
To apply or to donate, visit illinoisrestaurants.org.
—Grace Wong
11:51 a.m.: Trump criticizes Anthony Fauci, says ‘people are tired of hearing’ him and ‘all these idiots’ on coronavirus
President Donald Trump on Monday sought to buck up his campaign staffers two weeks from Election Day, dismissing the cautionary coronavirus advice of scientific experts as well as polling showing him trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden across key battleground states.
Speaking to campaign aides on a conference call, Trump insisted he believes he’s going to win, volunteering he didn’t have that sense of confidence two weeks ago when he was hospitalized with COVID-19. One week since returning to the campaign trail, where his handling of the pandemic is a central issue to voters, Trump blasted his government’s own scientists for their criticism of his performance.
Read more here. —Associated Press
11:30 a.m.: Chicago elected officials raise doubts about CPS reopening plans
Dozens of Chicago aldermen and state lawmakers have signed a letter saying they’re “deeply concerned” about the city’s plans to bring students back into Chicago Public Schools’ classrooms before the end of the year “and the foreseeable future.”
At the same time, the elected officials also said they are have concerns about remote learning, including the fact that some students still lack access to online lessons.
“We recognize that the current remote learning system is difficult for students, working families, and the educational staff committed to them,” the letter states. “At the same time, we also don’t want to put students in harms’ way, especially as other cities have encountered real difficulties in returning to in-person learning.”
Read more here. —Hannah Leone
11 a.m.: Wisconsin judge reimposes Gov. Tony Evers’ coronavirus order limiting bar, restaurant capacity
A Wisconsin judge on Monday reimposed an order from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places to 25% of capacity.
The capacity limits order was issued Oct. 6 by Andrea Palm, secretary of the state Department of Health Services, in the face of surging coronavirus cases in Wisconsin. A judge on Oct. 14 blocked the order after it was challenged by the Tavern League of Wisconsin, which argued it amounted to a “defacto closure” order for the bars and restaurants it represents.
But Barron County Judge James Babler on Monday put the capacity limits back into effect. The judge declined a request from the Tavern League to keep the capacity limit order on hold while the lawsuit is pending. The judge also declined to stay his ruling while the Tavern League and others fighting it appeal his decision.
Read more here. —Associated Press
9:58 a.m.: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threatens stricter coronavirus restrictions if city’s cases continue to rise, ‘Make no mistake: We are in the second surge.’
Citing a dramatic increase in the number of coronavirus cases since the start of October, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday threatened to reimpose stricter guidelines on businesses.
The mayor didn’t specify what measures she would turn to if COVID-19 cases continue to rise and said she hopes to avoid more painful steps. But, she said, she will if the cases continue rising. She asked residents to stop having dinner parties and card games, noting that people are letting their guards down and getting sick as a result.
“This is a time for each of us to dig down even deeper and be more diligent and if we don’t see a dramatic turnaround in our numbers and soon, then we will not hesitate to take the steps that are necessary to save our city, save our residents, even if that means going back to some of our Phase 3 restrictions.”
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt and John Byrne
9:29 a.m.: Cases on the rise in long-term care facilities
The state’s increase in COVID-19 cases is also showing up in places where residents are particularly vulnerable: long-term care facilities.
Over the weekend, the Illinois Department of Public Health updated its weekly tallies from the state’s roughly 1,200 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The data shows the biggest jump in the number of new cases since late May — 1,101 new infections detected in residents, up from 651 the week prior, or 450 more new cases.
The last weekly increase that big was between May 23 and May 29, when cases jumped from 1,700 to 2,216, or 516 more new cases in a week.
The overall number of new cases in long-term care is still about a fourth of the peak weekly increases seen in early May. The latest rise in long-term cases comes amid an overall jump in detected infections in Illinois. While increased testing is a factor in those trends, data also shows statewide increases in the percentage of tests coming back positive as well as in new hospitalizations and deaths, suggesting to researchers and public health experts that the infection is spreading more than it’s dying out, particularly downstate.
The state does not publicize the number of long-term care residents hospitalized with COVID-19, but it does tabulate deaths. In the past two weeks, the number of new deaths has approached 100 a week, after several weeks where the figures hovered around 60. Still, the number of new deaths remains far less than the 400-plus a week seen in late April and much of May.
—Joe Mahr
9:23 a.m.: As COVID-19 surges, so do teacher retirements
A dramatic increase in Illinois teachers retiring in recent months is likely linked to educators stepping away from the classroom because of COVID-19 health and safety concerns, state officials said on Friday.
From July through September, 566 teachers from across the state retired, a 45% increase from the same period in 2019, according to Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois data. The new retirements also come during a time when the numbers usually fall off.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
7:05 a.m.: Lightfoot, health officials to give update on COVID-19 response
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and city Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady were scheduled to give an update Monday morning on the city’s coronavirus response, according to the mayor’s office.
The briefing, which you can watch live here at 9:15 a.m., comes as Chicago, the state’s Region 11 in its COVID-19 reopening plan, has seen more the percentage of positive tests increase to more than 6 percent along with the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday blamed the state’s surging COVID-19 numbers in part on President Donald Trump and his allies for not wearing masks and holding rallies that don’t require masks.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: In a year of unexpected tragedy and turmoil, Chicago police Superintendent David Brown sought to reshape his department
On a brisk, sunny day in April, David Brown walked around in front of a South Side funeral home sporting a mask as scores of police vehicles lined the street to honor a Chicago police officer who had succumbed to COVID-19.
The pandemic prevented Brown, just days on the job as Chicago’s new top cop, from delivering remarks in the Calahan Funeral Home. Instead the new superintendent talked to reporters across the street from the building for about two minutes and stuck to the talking points of the day, offering condolences to Sgt. Clifford Martin’s family.
Despite the circumstances, it was nothing remarkable for a police leader taking on one of his ceremonial duties. Brown was still trying to ease into his role, going from leadership of police in Dallas to remaking the Chicago Police Department in his own image, and he had felt up to the job.
“While many people may think of Dallas like the 1980s TV show, J.R. Ewing, and cattle ranchers and 10-gallon hats and oil fields, I grew up in a neighborhood that looked more like Chicago’s West and South Side,” Brown had told the Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee the day before Martin’s funeral. “I know the joys of living surrounded by others. I also know the struggles of growing up poor, living and working in a historically segregated city, as Dallas and Chicago share these difficult pasts and present.”
But perhaps nothing could have prepared Brown for the months to come. He would quickly find himself attempting to help steer Chicago through the pandemic crisis and its effects, surging summer violence and civil unrest.
Read more here. —Jeremy Gorner
6 a.m.: Arrivederci, Little Italy? Adio, Greektown? Two of Chicago’s global dining destinations struggle to save their souls.
Red sauce and wine still flow on Little Italy’s Taylor Street, and the saganaki still flames on Greektown’s strip of Halsted.
But there is less Italian and Greek heritage on the menu these days on two of Chicago’s best-known dining corridors.
“We have tourists come in and ask, ‘Where is Little Italy?'” said Ralph Davino, third-generation owner of Pompei, one of a handful of Italian restaurants that remain on Taylor Street. “I have to tell them it’s gone.”
The Italian and Greek flair that distinguished those neighborhoods has been ebbing for years, a result of changes in demographics and consumers’ palates. The booming Fulton Market district nearby and encroaching real estate development added new pressures. Some worry the pandemic will be the final straw.
Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz and Ryan Ori
6 a.m.: Secluded cottages and woodland cabins are popular retreats for wanderlust-plagued Chicagoans looking for a socially distanced escape
Cottages and cabins are in high demand for the late fall and approaching winter, as we attempt to ease our way through our collective cold-weather confinement forced by COVID-19, without the respite of the summertime outdoors.
In the Midwest, vacation rental owners say they’re seeing a spike in winter bookings, as their quaint getaways offer a particularly appealing hygge aesthetic — a Danish term for cozy contentment — that is proving irresistible to those suffering from wanderlust.
With social distancing in mind, secluded cottages and cabins are proving to be increasingly popular escapes, but hosts caution that people should monitor state travel restrictions and plan their trips thoughtfully to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Read more here. —Ariel Cheung
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![By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the first rule to set minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes and require that a certain portion of the taxpayer dollars they receive go toward wages for care workers is a long-overdue “milestone” that […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Election_2024-Harris_89203.jpg?w=525 "By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday said the first rule to set minimum staffing levels at federally funded nursing homes and require that a certain portion of the taxpayer dollars they receive go toward wages for care workers is a long-overdue “milestone” that […]")
