Illinois is rolling back reopening restrictions across a wide swath of suburban Chicago this week as the state continues to see a major resurgence of COVID-19.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday afternoon that starting later this week, indoor service will be prohibited once again at restaurants and bars in DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties, an area that’s home to more than 1 in 6 Illinois residents.
Meanwhile, city officials announced five more states were added to Chicago’s travel quarantine order, while none were removed. Starting Friday, travelers heading from Colorado, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia and Texas will be subject to the city’s two-week quarantine requirement.
Illinois health officials on Tuesday also announced 3,714 new known cases of COVID-19 and 41 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 350,875 and the statewide death toll to 9,277 since the start of the pandemic. Officials also reported 59,077 new tests in the prior 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate as of Tuesday was 5.5%.
COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on key metrics in your area
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Here’s what’s happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
4:55 p.m.: McConnell warns White House not to make COVID-19 relief deal with Democrats
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday told fellow Republicans that he has warned the White House not to divide the GOP by sealing a lopsided pre-election COVID-19 relief deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — even as he publicly said he’d slate any such agreement for a vote.
McConnell made his remarks during a private lunch with fellow Republicans on Tuesday, three people familiar with his remarks said, requesting anonymity because the session was private.
The Kentucky Republican appears worried that an agreement between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would drive a wedge between Republicans, forcing them to choose whether to support a Pelosi-blessed deal with Trump that would violate conservative positions they’ve stuck with for months. Many Republicans say they can’t vote for another huge Pelosi-brokered agreement.
McConnell’s move dampens even further any potential for an agreement and comes as Pelosi and Mnuchin have arrived at a critical phase of their talks if any relief is going to be enacted by Election Day. The contours of a potential deal are taking shape behind the scenes even as President Donald Trump’s GOP allies are recoiling at the administration’s tolerance for a $2 trillion package.
McConnell said if such a bill passed the Democratic-controlled House with Trump’s blessing “we would put it on the floor of the Senate.” Those public remarks came after the private session with fellow Republicans.
Read more here. —Associated Press
4:35 p.m.: Lake County Health Department calls on schools to immediately end in-person classes and return to virtual learning
The Lake County Health Department recommended Tuesday that all public and private schools in the county currently educating children in the classroom immediately return to virtual learning because of the threats posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
School officials responded in a variety of ways. Some said they will follow the recommendation, others indicated they will not, while a number suggested they are undecided.
The health department recommended all public and private schools, from kindergarten through high school, in Lake County move to remote learning immediately to reduce the “substantial” community transmission of COVID-19.
Mark Pfister, the executive director of the health department, said in a press release the seven-day rolling average of new cases of the virus was more than 14 per 100,000 residents as of Oct. 11, and has since risen to more than 20.
“We have been seeing ‘substantial’ community transmission of COVID-19 in Lake County for seven consecutive days, with rates of new cases that we haven’t seen since the spring,” Pfister said.
When the number of new cases rises to more than 14 per 100,000, it is considered substantial and remote learning is recommended, according to the release.
Read more here. —Steve Sadin
4:20 p.m.: Prospects dim for return of Chicago’s convention industry. ‘I would say definitely not 2021.’
Chicago’s convention industry, one of the city’s major sources of tax revenue, might not return in any significant fashion until 2022, dealing a prolonged financial blow to the city as it struggles to make up a $1.2 billion budget shortfall.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is scheduled to present her plan to close the city’s budget deficit Wednesday, which might include increases to property and gas taxes, as well as city worker layoffs.
With COVID-19 cases on the rise again and business and international air travel depressed, trade show organizers continue to examine plans for next year. Already, eight shows scheduled at McCormick Place through April have been canceled, and one has been rescheduled for later in 2021.
Since March, 161 McCormick Place trade shows scheduled for this year and early 2021 have been nixed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those shows were expected to generate more than $2 billion in spending, with an estimated attendance of 1.6 million people, according to spokeswoman Cynthia McCafferty. About 63% expect to return at a later date, she said.
Chicago could lose an estimated $77 million in tax revenue as a result of the cancellations, according to Zafer Sönmez, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies the economic impact of McCormick Square, the sprawling 2.6 million-square-foot campus that includes McCormick Place, Wintrust Arena, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and Marriott Marquis Chicago.
At least two vaccines that had been in late-stage testing have recently been put on hold. Sönmez said even if a vaccine is developed in the coming months, companies and event organizers will be hesitant to send employees to large gatherings until it is widely available.
“I would say definitely not 2021. We will still observe very low numbers for 2021. And starting at the end of 2022, we could see some activity,” Sönmez said.
For Chicago, the absence of conventions could spell more trouble for the city’s finances. Sönmez said the city generates about $145 million in tax revenue annually from conventions and other events hosted at McCormick Square.
Now, organizers are rethinking plans well into next year.
Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez
3:40 p.m.: McConnell says Pelosi-Mnuchin deal would get Senate vote despite GOP rank-and-file opposition
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he’ll schedule a vote if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration are able to seal an agreement on a huge COVID-19 relief bill.
The Kentucky Republican’s remarks came as Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have arrived at a critical phase of their talks — a deadline day of sorts — if any relief is going to be enacted by Election Day. The contours of a potential deal are taking shape behind the scenes even as President Donald Trump’s GOP allies are recoiling at the administration’s tolerance for a $2 trillion package.
Despite GOP opposition, McConnell said if such a bill passed the Democratic-controlled House with Trump’s blessing “we would put it on the floor of the Senate.”
Pelosi and Mnuchin were slated to talk again Tuesday amid signs that they are continuing to narrow their differences. Pelosi said Tuesday that they remain at odds over refundable tax credits for the working poor and families with children, the size of a Democratic-sought aid package for state and local governments, and a liability shield for businesses and other organizations against lawsuits over their COVID preparations.
The Pelosi-Mnuchin talks also involve pandemic jobless aid, a second round of $1,200 direct payments, and money for schools, testing and vaccines.
Read more here. —Associated Press
12:40 p.m. (updated at 3:20 p.m., 6 p.m.) : Illinois orders tighter restrictions on bars, restaurants and gatherings in several suburban counties as coronavirus positivity rates rise
Roughly a third of Illinois’ 102 counties and a quarter of its residents soon will be living under stricter rules aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus as the state attempts to rein in a resurgent pandemic.
Starting Friday, indoor service at bars and restaurants will be prohibited in DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties, an area that’s home to more than 1 in 6 Illinois residents, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.
latest wave of restrictions would make it even more difficult to stay in business as winter looms and outdoor dining becomes less of an option.
“It’s absolutely devastating that this has happened again,” said Raffi Demerdjian, general manager of Empire Burger & Brew in Naperville. “The restaurant business is difficult as it is. To be put through these restrictions makes it more difficult … it’s a sickening, sickening feeling.”
The two regions that comprise DuPage, Kane, Will and Kankakee counties are the latest to see their economic reopenings partially rolled back after experiencing spikes in the percentage of coronavirus tests returning positive results. As of Saturday, the seven-day average of positivity rates in the regions remained above a state-established threshold of 8% for the third straight day, triggering the clampdown.
When the latest rollbacks take effect later this week, four of the 11 regions in Pritzker’s reopening plan will be under the stricter requirements, which also include lowering a cap on gatherings from 50 people to 25. The tighter rules take effect Thursday in the 20 southernmost counties in Illinois and have been in effect since Oct. 3 in the nine counties in the state’s northwest corner.
“There is no easy fix for the effects of this virus on our economy and on our public health,” Pritzker said at his daily COVID-19 briefing. “But we can and we will manage through this.”
Read more here. —Dan Petrella
11 a.m.: Chicago-area hospitals brace for influx of COVID-19 patients amid second wave
Chicago area hospitals are again bracing for large numbers of COVID-19 patients as Illinois enters what some care calling a second wave of the illness.
If the number of hospitalizations rises high enough, it’s possible hospital COVID-19 units that were shut down could be reactivated, hospitals could again add more beds to handle patient overflows, some visitor policies could become more restrictive, and elective surgeries could be postponed, hospital leaders said.
Chicago area hospitals aren’t at that point yet, but some have seen rapidly rising numbers of people needing overnight care in recent days.
As of Sunday night, 2,096 people in the state with COVID-19 were hospitalized, up from 1,631 two weeks earlier. On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned that “in Illinois, it looks like a new wave could be upon us” and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot labeled the increases a “second surge.” The illness is already overwhelming hospitals in neighboring Wisconsin.
During the first wave, on May 1, there were 4,719 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Illinois.
“We are definitely seeing an increase in hospitalizations that we noticed for the first time on Thursday,” said Dr. Stuart Marcus, Amita Health’s executive vice president and chief clinical officer. “We noticed it right away and said, ‘Oh boy, all right.'”
Read more here. —Lisa Schencker
10:35 a.m.: 5 states added to Chicago’s travel quarantine order: ‘We all need to double down on COVID precautions’
Five more states, including Ohio, were added to Chicago’s travel quarantine order while none were removed, city officials announced Tuesday.
Starting Friday, travelers heading from Colorado, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia and Texas will be subject to the city’s two-week quarantine requirement, according to a news release. For the Lone Star state, this week will be the third time Chicago has added it to its travel order.
Last week, the city placed Indiana on its list for the first time, ensuring all four states bordering Illinois are part of the order. A state gets placed on the list if it averages more than 15 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.
The 31 states and territories that will be covered by the order on Friday will be: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Read more here. — Alice Yin
9:40 a.m.: 11 Big Ten mayors send a letter to the conference seeking clarity and details on COVID-19 protocols
The Big Ten football season begins in three days, and the conference has yet to supply certain information regarding COVID-19 protocols.
On Tuesday morning, mayors from 11 Big Ten cities — including Evanston and Madison, Wis. — sent a letter to conference officials asking for assistance.
The letter, from Mayor Aaron Stephens of East Lansing, Mich., states the group is “respectfully requesting a few practical measures to ensure each college and university community is better prepared for the continued fight against COVID-19. The mayors have requested that the Big Ten Conference work with local and county health officials in Big Ten college communities to define population positivity rates at which it is no longer safe to host a football game given the increased community activity (i.e. social gatherings and alcohol consumption) that games tend to generate.”
The 11 mayors are from the towns and cities home to Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Penn State, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio State.
Read more here. —Teddy Greenstein
9:15 a.m.: Naperville District 203 puts hold on back-to-school plans as COVID-19 cases increase in DuPage
Naperville School District 203 has pushed back plans to bring students back to the classroom to November, citing advice from the DuPage County Health Department because COVID-19 cases are increasing.
Superintendent Dan Bridges announced the decision in a message send to parents and staff Monday. While some students in specialized programs will continue to attend in-person programs, hybrid classes won’t start until Nov. 4.
Some and preschool and elementary students in Naperville schools were scheduled to return this week a part-time schedule of in-person class in which they would come to school on half days twice a week and do remote learning the rest of the time.
However, the switch to block scheduling for junior high and high school students will continue as planned this week, Bridges said.
Read more here. — Rafael Guerrero
9 a.m.: Indiana county clerk refuses to wear mask while administering polls
A county clerk in rural Indiana says she will not wear a mask while overseeing early voting despite the county’s surge of coronavirus cases and warnings from a state official.
Fountain County Clerk Paula Copenhaver said she will “not be part of the government overreach” and contends social distancing and hand sanitizer are enough.
Valerie Warycha, spokeswoman for the secretary of state, confirmed Friday that Connie Lawson contacted Copenhaver to ask her to wear a mask.
Lawson also wrote in an email on Friday to clerks and election officials in all 92 Indiana counties that if poll workers refuse to wear masks or other protection, clerks should thank them for their service “and ask that they voluntarily resign.”
Lawson did not mention any clerks or counties by name in her email, and she did not issue any mandates. State elected officials do not have the authority to do that, Warycha said.
Lawson said the election is “the time to be careful, not cavalier,” and that clerks needed to put public health before personal preference, the Journal & Courier reported.
Read more here. —Associated Press
7:02 a.m.: Pritzker to hold daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday
As a sign of the seriousness of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday the state would resume holding daily weekday coronavirus briefings, something he gave up doing in the spring, after case rates declined following a period of tight lockdowns statewide.
Pritzker moved to briefings on an as-needed or weekly basis in June, with daily numbers released around noon via news release each day after that.
“All of this takes place in a national landscape of increasing positivity rates, and where the majority of our border states have been called out as national hot spots,” Pritzker said Monday.
Tuesday’s briefing was set to be held in the midafternoon at the Thompson Center. Check back for updates. — Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Just as schools begin to reopen, many are closing again as COVID-19 surges: ‘It’s almost an impossible situation’
It took more than six months and countless hours for New Trier High School officials to develop and execute an elaborate plan to bring students back into the classroom safely and gradually this fall for in-person instruction.
But it took just five days for administrators to halt their new COVID-19-era hybrid plan and send students back to their bedrooms for remote learning, at least for the time being.
The decision to put the brakes on New Trier’s hybrid plan came last week after a spike in COVID-19 cases in suburban Chicago and after the state reported some of the highest numbers of new cases since May.
Now, with the Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday reporting more than 3,100 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, suburban Chicago school district officials who in recent months have faced intense pressure from parents, demanding that schools reopen, will be forced to make day-to-day decisions with consequences that extend far beyond academics.
“I think everyone recognizes that in-person instruction is better for students than remote learning, but the problem is, reopening schools is not about an inconvenience — it’s a matter of life and death,” said Timothy Dohrer, an assistant professor at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.
Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta
6 a.m.: Why are Chicagoans moving away during the pandemic? As study suggests outbound migration is spiking, we asked them.
Chicago’s population has been on the decline for years, with the metropolitan area suffering some of the greatest losses of any major U.S. city. But new research suggests that the pandemic might be exacerbating the exodus.
For the first time in four years, moving concierge app Updater has helped more people move out of Chicago than to it, the company said. The catch-all moving service estimates that it takes part in one-third of all U.S. moves, providing unique, real-time insight into pandemic-driven trends, said Jenna Weinerman, Updater’s vice president of marketing.
“All these macro conditions — job insecurity, remote work, people wanting to gain more space — are coming together to create these patterns,” Weinerman said.
The Chicago figures are based on approximately 39,000 moves within city limits from March 1 to Sept. 30. Compared to 2019, this year saw more moving activity in general, with an 8% jump in moves into the city — but a 19% increase in the number of people leaving.
More than half of the moves — 52.3% — were out of the city, while 47.7% were people moving into the city or current residents changing homes within city limits. For those leaving, the most popular destinations were California, Texas and Florida, while nearby states like Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin were also in the top 10.
The Tribune spoke with 10 people who moved to or from Chicago during the pandemic to glean some insight as to why residents are moving out — or what makes Chicago a great place to land in the era of COVID-19.
Here’s what they had to say. —Ariel Cheung
Breaking coronavirus news
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In case you missed it
Here are five stories from Monday related to COVID-19:
Illinois community colleges have seen a big drop in enrollment, reflecting national declines in higher education.
A surge of COVID-19 cases across the state prompted New Trier High School to again postpone return to campus.
As COVID-19 has surged, so have teacher retirements.
The IHSA said it would allow athletes in spring and summer sports to play for travel teams simultaneously; details on winter season could come Oct. 28.
With COVID-19 on the rise, here’s what to consider before seeing friends or family indoors this winter.
![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 […]")
