Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that the projected peak in the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois is continuing to be pushed back further, extending from mid-May into mid-June. Last month, Pritzker said models were predicting the state would peak between late April and early May, and earlier models showed the state would peak sometime in April.
“That timeframe of plateauing near a peak has been expanded from mid-May into mid-June, Pritzker said. “In many ways, this news is disheartening.”Pritzker said that pushing out the estimated peak is “a natural consequence of flattening the curve.”
State officials on Monday reported 54 additional deaths, for a total of 3,459 deaths statewide since the pandemic began earlier this year. There were 1,266 new known cases of COVID-19 reported Monday, pushing the statewide known case total to 79,007.
Pritzker was forced to work from home Monday, after his office announced an unidentified senior staff member has tested positive for COVID-19.
Separately, the city of Chicago will open six new testing sites aimed at addressing disparities among black and brown residents and try to ramp up the city’s capacity ahead of a potential reopening with help from a charity founded by actor Sean Penn, officials said Monday.
Here’s what happened May 11 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
5:46 p.m.: Church leaders push back on Lightfoot and Pritzker stay-at-home orders: ‘We have to stand up for ourselves at some point’
Two Chicago church leaders vowed to continue holding religious services despite anti-coronavirus social distancing requirements and criticized Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for not consulting them about shutting down houses of worship.
Lightfoot, meanwhile, criticized one of the churches for reopening its doors over the weekend but said she would continue education efforts about the importance of stay-at-home orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dispute kicked off after Metro Praise International Church on the Northwest Side opened its doors for in-person services in an act church officials described as “passive resistance” to Pritzker’s ongoing stay-at-home order.
That defiance led Lightfoot to tweet Monday morning, “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing. When you gather like this, you are putting yourself and your loved ones in serious danger.”
Another church, Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church, also hosted Sunday services in Albany Park despite the stay-at-home order.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Lightfoot said she spoke with the pastor of Elim Romanian and had a “very pleasant” talk with him. She said she hoped to do more outreach but expressed reluctance to take harsher action.
“We’re not going to send in the police to arrest parishioners,” Lightfoot said. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt, Javonte Anders, Dan Petrella
4:02 p.m.: Chicago restaurants get a big gift on Mother’s Day with strong takeout and delivery sales
As we’ve written about many, many times, restaurants are struggling right now. And with the possible opening of dining rooms pushed back to at least June 26, it’s not clear when things will ever get back to normal.
But there was a rare bright spot over the weekend, as a number of restaurants reported strong sales thanks to Mother’s Day.
Last weekend was the first time Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits (2051 N. California Ave.) had opened in about eight weeks. But owner Michael Ciapciak says that it was a great opening weekend. “We were very fortunate to have extraordinary support from our guests for Mother’s Day,” wrote Ciapciak in an email. “We took pre-orders only and were open for contactless pickup in our pie garden in Logan Square.” He says the restaurant prepared over 500 orders. Read more here. —Nick Kindelsperger
3:59 p.m.: Self-employed started applying for unemployment benefits Monday, but there’s a catch
Self-employed workers like piano teachers and web designers started applying for newly available unemployment benefits on Monday through a new state application portal, but there’s a catch — first they must apply, and get rejected, for regular unemployment benefits.
The extra step provided a fresh source of frustration for self-employed workers, who had previously been told they needed to wait to apply for benefits under the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security said on its web site last Wednesday that workers who believe they are eligible for the new federal benefits under the “Pandemic Unemployment Act” must apply for regular unemployment insurance as a “mandatory first step.” If applicants get an eligibility finding of $0, they can then appeal that decision by providing proof of wages earned, or submit a claim through the new “PUA” portal, the state said. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski
3:36 p.m.: Illinois Supreme Court denies Pritzker’s request to rule he was within his rights in extending disaster proclamation
The Illinois Supreme Court dealt a setback to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday, denying his request for a ruling that he acted within his authority when he extended his disaster proclamation for the coronavirus pandemic beyond the initial 30 days.
The governor and the Illinois attorney general’s office asked the state’s highest court to take up the matter after a southern Illinois judge ruled late last month that Pritzker had exceeded his legal authority under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.
The ruling in Clay County Circuit Court came in a lawsuit brought by state Rep. Darren Bailey, a Republican from Xenia. The circuit judge issued a temporary restraining order exempting Bailey from the stay-at-home order, but the lawmaker later asked an appeals court to withdraw the order so he could refile his lawsuit with new information.
“The Supreme Court is not saying they’re not going to rule on this ever,” Pritzker said at his daily news briefing. “They’re just saying that that don’t want to skip over the appellate court, is my understanding.” —Dan Petrella
3:31 p.m.: Wisconsin GOP lawmakers urge Washington to reject any ‘bailout’ money for Illinois: ‘Our neighbors to the south have spent decades spending and borrowing recklessly’
Members of Wisconsin’s Republican legislative majority are asking the state’s congressional delegation to oppose using any federal coronavirus relief package money to help bail out Illinois and other states with a history of “reckless budgeting.”
The letter, sent Friday by 43 GOP lawmakers to Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators and seven House members, acknowledged states and the nation are facing “unprecedented challenges” dealing with COVID-19.
“These responses to the disease have led to drastic changes in budget projections for states around the country: sales tax collections are down, income tax deadlines have been extended, unemployment rates are at historic levels and more businesses are permanently closing every day,” the letter said.
“That being said, Wisconsin has spent eight years making the tough choices to get our fiscal house in order,” the letter said. “We do know that our neighbors to the south have spent decades spending and borrowing recklessly.” Read more here. —Rick Pearson
3:07 p.m.: Pritzker’s phased reopening plan continues to face pushback
Parts of Pritzker’s phased reopening plan continued to face pushback Monday, as Republican legislative leaders and the Illinois Municipal League wrote the governor letters asking for adjustments, including a smaller window of time it takes each region of the state to move from one phase to another.
Pritzker at his Monday briefing continued to defend his plan and the timelines and benchmarks included that the different regions must hit in order from advance from one phase to the next.
Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole wrote a letter to Pritzker Monday asking for more regions than the current four the state is divided into as part of the “Restore Illinois” reopening plan the governor laid out last week. Cole, who has appeared alongside Pritzker at previous daily briefings, in his letter also called for decreasing from 28 days to 14 days the necessary period of time a region needs to see stability or a decline in COVID-19 like hospitalizations in order to move to the next phase and loosen restrictions that are aimed at curtailing the spread of the virus.
Republican legislative leaders Bill Brady and Jim Durkin also wrote a joint letter to Pritzker Monday echoing those suggestions made in the Municipal League letter and asking the governor to call a special session of the Illinois General Assembly “so that we can further discuss and develop the necessary adjustments to your plan that protects the public’s health while at the same time moves our economy forward more quickly.” —Jamie Munks
2:35 p.m.: Pritzker says predicted coronavirus peak is now expanded from mid-May into mid-June
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that Illinois projected peak in the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to be pushed back further, extending from mid-May into mid-June.
Last month, Pritzker said models were predicting the state would peak between late April and early May, and earlier models showed the state would peak sometime in April.
“That timeframe of plateauing near a peak has been expanded from mid-May into mid-June, Pritzker said. “In many ways, this news is disheartening.”Pritzker said that pushing out the estimated peak is “a natural consequence of flattening the curve.”
State officials on Monday reported 54 additional deaths, for a total of 3,459 deaths statewide since the pandemic began earlier this year. There were 1,266 new known cases of COVID-19 reported Monday, pushing the statewide known case total to 79,007.
Pritzker was forced to work from home Monday, after his office announced an unidentified senior staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. —Jamie Munks
2:18 p.m.: 2.3 million more Illinois jobs at risk: The devastating economic toll of the virus in 6 charts
Illinois is facing an unemployment crisis unlike any seen since the Great Depression, as the new coronavirus ravages the economy and puts people out of work.
The situation may get worse.
In Illinois, 37% of jobs are at risk of ending in furloughs, layoffs, or sharp reductions in hours or pay because of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a recent analysis from McKinsey Global Institute. But some positions are more endangered than others.
Vulnerable jobs are concentrated among low-income workers and people of color, who already have been hit harder by the pandemic than white people.
The percentage of vulnerable jobs is slightly higher in Illinois than nationally, but overall, the trends in the state mirror what is going on around the country. Up to one-third — or 57 million — U.S. jobs are vulnerable to economic inactivity caused by the pandemic, according to the analysis. Read more here. —Jonathon Berlin and Ally Marotti
2:17 p.m.: Lightfoot advances plan to delay part of worker scheduling protection rules due to virus outbreak
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is moving to delay a key part of the city’s landmark Fair Workweek ordinance until next year, stopping workers from suing their bosses for violating rules requiring large Chicago businesses to give at least two weeks’ advance notice of their schedules.
City Business Affairs Commissioner Rosa Escareno said deferring that clause in the ordinance until Jan. 1 is important as companies struggle to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and attempts to re-open different sectors of Chicago’s economy.
“We understand that all businesses are struggling due to the COVID outbreak, which is why we are coming forward with today’s proposal to postpone implementation of the private cause of action section of the ordinance until Jan. 1st of 2021,” Escareno said. “This will allow businesses to implement Fair Workweek policies without fear of lawsuits during the first six months of the regulations.”
The ordinance passed the council in July after being painstakingly crafted over many months to try to appease influential business and labor groups on opposite sides of the issue. It entitles employees working for bigger companies in the areas of building services, health care, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail and warehouse services to two weeks heads-up on their schedules.
The rest of the rules will take effect July 1 as planned, and city inspectors will investigate complaints that businesses aren’t giving their employees proper notice about when they are scheduled to work. Employees simply won’t be able to act on the results of those investigations by filing suits in Cook County Circuit Court till next year, Escareno said. Read more here. —John Byrne
1:26 p.m.: MLB owners approve a plan to start the season — without fans — in July
Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead Monday to making a proposal to the players’ union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans, a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020.
Spring training would start in early to mid-June, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the plan were not announced. Read more here. —Associated Press
1:10 p.m. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers allows nearly all nonessential businesses to reopen with limits
Gov. Tony Evers on Monday allowed nearly all nonessential businesses to reopen as long as they serve no more than five customers at a time, partially lifting the restriction that has kept them closed for weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The latest order, which took effect immediately, addresses criticism from smaller businesses and Republican lawmakers that it was unfair to allow essential businesses such as grocery stores to remain open while nonessential businesses such as flower shops had to close under Evers’ “safer at home” order, which runs until May 26. The latest order applies to all standalone stores and those in strip malls that have entrances to the outside, but not to stores in large indoor shopping malls.
The order, issued by Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm at Evers’ direction, strongly encourages all shoppers and store workers to wear masks, but does not require it. Everyone in the store must maintain a 6-foot distance from one another. Evers also allowed drive-in movie theaters to reopen. Read more here. —Associated Press
1 p.m.: Chicago to open six more testing sites in neighborhoods, will try to reach 10,000 tests per day goal
The city of Chicago will open six new testing sites aimed at addressing disparities among black and brown residents and try to ramp up the city’s capacity ahead of a potential reopening with help from a charity founded by actor Sean Penn, officials said Monday.
Chicago officials will work with Community Organized Relief Effort and Curative-Korva to run the sites. They also will work with community groups to help with registration for tests.
CORE is a charity founded by Penn, Lightfoot said.
One of the sites will open in the parking lot at the White Sox’s Guaranteed Rate Field in Bridgeport for asymptomatic first responders and healthcare and other essential workers, the city said.
The others largely will be aimed at the city’s black and Latino communities, including Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy in Little Village, Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academies in Hanson Park, Kennedy-King College in Englewood, Senka Park in Gage Park and Gately Park in Pullman. Locations have been chosen because they’re near public transportation, easily accessible by vehicle and have large spaces for proper social distancing, city officials said.
Chicago officials will work with Community Organized Relief Effort and Curative-Korva to run the sites. They also will work with community groups to help with registration for tests.
Ultimately, Lightfoot’s administration wants to be able to perform 10,000 tests per day, though the city’s goal for potentially beginning to ease stay-at-home restrictions is 4,500. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
12:39 p.m.: Navy’s Blue Angels confirm times, route for Tuesday flyover of Chicago
As part of its “America Strong” campaign to thank medical professionals, emergency responders, and essential workers, the Blue Angels will do a flyover of Chicago on Tuesday, according to the flight demonstration squad.
The Blue Angels, an elite flight squad specializing in aerobatics, along with the Thunderbirds, the Air Force demonstration squad, have been conducting flyovers in cities across the country since the end of April, according to a Department of Defense news release that called the effort a show of “national solidarity.”
Chicago is on the list for Tuesday, along with Detroit and Indianapolis, according to social media posts from Blue Angels. The approximately 15-minute flyover will be conducted in the Chicago area starting around 11:45 a.m., ending along the lakefront around noon. Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas
12:28 p.m.: Northwestern University furloughs staff, cuts leaders’ pay to address financial fallout of pandemic
Northwestern University on Monday announced a series of new cost-saving steps spurred by the coronavirus pandemic that include furloughing about 250 workers, suspending contributions to employee retirement plans and spending more of its endowment.
The school’s president, interim provost and a senior vice president will also take pay cuts of at least 20%.
The additional cost-saving measures come as the school expects a $90 million deficit this year, with a “significant shortfall” likely next year too, leaders said. Read more here. —Elyssa Cherney
11:44 a.m.: Abbott Labs prepares to ship antibody tests after obtaining emergency use approval from FDA
Abbott Labs announced Monday that it is getting ready to distribute tens of millions of antibody tests monthly to help determine what percentage of the population has contracted COVID-19.
Abbott said it planned to ship 30 million of the tests, also known as serology tests, this month and 60 million by next month, for use in the United States, Europe and India.
“Having more options of highly reliable tests across our platforms will help health care workers and health officials as they conduct broad-scale testing for COVID-19,” said Robert B. Ford, president and chief executive officer of the Libertville-based company.
One of the tests the company will distribute has a less than half of 1 percent chance of producing a false positive result — meaning a person is incorrectly found to have been infected — and little to no chance of producing a false negative, the company stated in a news release. That would make it more reliable than some of the other tests on the market.
It also is counting distribution of an earlier antibody test developed by Abbott. The antibody tests determine if someone has developed antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which may provide some level of immunity, but that’s not certain.
Medical experts say the tests are more useful for gauging the extent of the epidemic than determining whether some may be immune. And they could help determine whether people need a certain level of antibodies to be immune to the disease.
Both tests have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, but the federal government has not yet given either full approval.
There has been some consternation in both the medical community and Congress about the way the FDA had been allowing allegedly unreliable antibody tests to go to market without obtaining emergency use authorization.
The FDA a week ago tightened its policy on antibody tests. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, chairman of the House Oversight Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, launched an investigation of the old policy. —Hal Dardick
10:17 a.m.: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago staff working from home after colleague tests positive for COVID-19
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his Chicago office staff will be working from home after a senior staff member in the governor’s office tested positive for the new coronavirus, Pritzker’s office announced Monday.
Pritzker was tested Sunday, and the results were negative, according to the governor’s office. The rest of the governor’s staff who have been reporting to the office also tested negative.
The governor’s office says about 20 staff members have been working from the James R. Thompson Center, following Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines and social distancing measures.
Pritzker will continue to hold weekdays news briefings. —Dan Petrella
9:22 a.m.: Lightfoot criticizes Northwest Side church for holding in-person Sunday services
Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized a Chicago church for reopening its doors over the weekend, tweeting: “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re doing. When you gather like this, you are putting yourself and your loved ones in serious danger.”
The church, Metro Praise International Church on the city’s Northwest Side, opened its doors for in-person services in an act church officials described as “passive resistance” to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order.
Lightfoot expressed her concern in a tweet Monday morning, though it wasn’t immediately clear if the city would take action in response. Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
7:23 a.m.: A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against state coronavirus restrictions, though support for closures dips, poll shows
A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits — including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders — has dipped in recent weeks.
The new survey from the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 55% of Americans disapprove of the protests that have popped up in some states as some Americans begin chafing at public health measures that have decimated the global economy. Thirty-one percent approve of the demonstrations. Read more here. —Associated Press
6:45 a.m.: Cook County correctional officer dies after being diagnosed with COVID-19
A Cook Cook correctional officer has died of apparent complications from COVID-19, according to the sheriff’s office, the third worker in the office to die from the disease.
Officer Antoine Jones, 51, died Sunday after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March. The sheriff’s office said the official cause was pending an autopsy.
Jones joined the sheriff’s office in July of 2002. He lived on Chicago’s South Side with his wife and five adult children. Officer Jones was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March. The office said it considers Jones’ death to be in the line of duty and will be “strongly advocating that his family receive all the benefits that designation affords.”
Jones is the second correctional officer to die of complications from the coronavirus, the office said. A third worker in the sheriff’s office also died from the disease. Seven detainees who tested positive for COVID-19 at the jail have died. There are at least 236 detainees who are positive for the virus, with six being treated at hospitals. —Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: How and when Chicago-area schools will reopen remains unclear, despite ‘Restore Illinois’ phase-in plan
School officials in Chicago and the suburbs are worried about the uncertainty of how Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan for reopening the state amid the coronavirus pandemic might affect millions of children in Illinois when school resumes in some form in the fall.
Restore Illinois, a five-phase approach Pritzker unveiled last week, indicates the earliest the state’s schools could reopen is during phase four, at which point gatherings of 50 people or fewer will be allowed and schools may reopen with social distancing policies and safety guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
When the Chicago region will reach phase four, and whether that will be by the traditional start of the school year, will depend on a continual decline in the positivity rate among those tested and in the number of patients admitted to the hospital. Even with loosened restrictions, face coverings and social distancing are still expected to remain the norm, officials said.
The phased-in approach to reopening is tied to how COVID-19 has affected a particular region of the state, meaning areas hit hardest by the virus, including Chicago, suburban Cook County and the rest of the Chicago area, could see their school buildings reopen later than rural areas in Illinois that have seen fewer cases.
For Chicago Public Schools, reaching phase four won’t be the only bench mark needed to reopen. Chicago Teachers Union leaders said they intend to bargain over how schools reopen, prioritizing safety. Class sizes will have to be smaller, and more supports like hand-washing stations will be needed, they said. Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta and Hannah Leone
6 a.m.: Swanky Gold Coast hotel has become a haven for people living on the street and others at risk. ‘Housing is health care.’
In mid-April, Joeal Hamlin, who was staying in a West Side shelter, was offered a ninth-story room inside the pricey Hotel One Sixty-Six Magnificent Mile, where the Lawndale Christian Health Center oversees a makeshift isolation facility for people who are homeless.
“I actually was leading to a depression, anxiety,” Hamlin said. “I felt I could do better for myself, but I couldn’t do it by myself. With the help of Lawndale Christian Health, I’m not by myself anymore.”
Hamlin’s new living quarters are part of the city’s effort to shelter those who have nowhere to go as the death toll from COVID-19 in Illinois tops 3,000. The city has rented nearly 400 rooms in two downtown hotels to isolate people considered to be at high-risk during the pandemic.
To date, 251 people experiencing homelessness have stayed in the isolation and quarantine hotel rooms and given free meals, with 152 guests still in the hotel. It’s an evolving experiment that Thomas Huggett — lead doctor of the Lawndale Christian Health Center’s medical team at Hotel One Sixty-Six — hopes will transform how society cares for such people.
“There are stay-at-home orders,” Huggett said. “What does that actually mean for people who don’t have a home? From our angle, housing is health care. If we can really learn through these liminal times, then perhaps we can make some long-lasting, positive changes.” Read more here. —Alice Yin and Cecilia Reyes
6 a.m.: Food, iPads, care packages part of groundswell of donations to Roseland hospital following Tribune story
In the past few weeks, Tribune readers have donated staff meals, gift bags for nurses, care packages for patients, personal protective equipment and technology to Roseland Community Hospital, which serves underprivileged neighborhoods on the Far South Side, in response to a story about the hospital’s plight in the battle against coronavirus.
Roseland President Tim Egan said the outpouring has boosted morale among a hospital staff where one member previously described efforts to treat the virus as “fighting with one arm tied behind our backs.”
“We’re still outgunned, outmanned and underfunded, but boy, have we gotten a lot of aid to our front lines,” Egan said. “It’s truly stunning.” Read more here. —Stacy St. Clair
6 a.m.: Legal aid organizations strained by increase in pandemic-related cases, including domestic violence, unemployment claims
Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck Chicago, attorneys who offer legal work to the poor say they have seen a significant rise in people seeking assistance with domestic violence and unemployment benefits.
With demand for free legal help expected to further rise after Cook County courts reopen, lawyers say the public health crisis will intensify preexisting legal inequities.
While the pandemic has led to an increase in pro bono volunteers from the city’s law firms, the surge in cases figures to exacerbate the strain on the already limited resources of Legal Aid Chicago, a roughly 150-person organization that provides legal services to city residents living in poverty, said Executive Director John Gallo. Read more here. —Antonia Ayres-Brown
Breaking coronavirus news
Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
May 9-10
Here are four things that happened this weekend that you need to know:
Suburban sisters came home from college to find both parents sick with COVID-19, but the couple has survived after ICU stay for both
Pritzker says state will go it alone on testing and tracing, expecting no help from the federal government.
Obama harshly criticizes Trump’s handling of coronavirus pandemic as ‘absolute chaotic disaster’ in call with supporters
The FDA approves new coronavirus antigen test with rapid results
