People coming to Chicago from 15 states experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases must self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering the city beginning next week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced late Thursday afternoon.
The order, which will go into effect on Monday, does not apply to people who are at the airport for a connecting flight or driving through the city on their way elsewhere, city officials said.
The city of Chicago will also shut down bars that aren’t following social distancing guidelines and increase patrols in “problem areas,” Lightfoot and other officials told liquor license holders on a conference call ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.
“If you squander this opportunity we will shut you down and you will not reopen anytime soon,” Lightfoot said on the call, according to two sources.
Illinois health officials Thursday reported 869 new known cases of COVID-19 and 36 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 144,882 and the confirmed death toll to 6,987.
Here’s what’s happening Thursday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
8:24 p.m.: No apparent COVID-19 spread from George Floyd protests; Chicago and Cook officials keep wary watch on reopening
Protests in Chicago and the suburbs over the Minnesota death of George Floyd as a police officer knelt on his neck so far have caused no identifiable uptick in COVID-19 cases, city and suburban Cook County officials said this week.
But they also noted that cases have been leveling off in Chicago and the suburbs, and increasing slightly statewide. Those trends came not only in the wake of the protests, but also as testing expanded across the state and stay-at-home orders were relaxed, making it tough to know precisely why the numbers changed, they said.
“I would use caution to pin that to protests,” said Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer for the Chicago Department of Public Health. “At a similar time we were seeing the protests, we also were gradually coming out of shelter in place, meaning more people are going back to work, there was opening up of restaurants and stores, (and) we were seeing small gatherings. … So, if we saw an uptick, it would be very difficult to know if it was related to protests or social gatherings that people are having in their home.” Read more here. — Hal Dardick
7:44 p.m.: Bars and restaurants find themselves at coronavirus crossroads for July Fourth: ‘It’s going to be a tough weekend’
Ahead of a summer holiday weekend that, in normal times, would mean packed patios and crowded bars, restaurant and bar owners are facing fines of up to $10,000 if COVID-19 restrictions are flouted.
It’s a tough line to toe for businesses just barely scraping by after nearly three months of being closed due to the pandemic. In Pilsen, La Vaca Margarita Bar has been open for outdoor dining for a few weeks, converting its parking lot into a patio with tables spaced 6 feet apart. Read more here. — Josh Noel, Louisa Chu, Adam Lukach, Gregory Pratt and Grace Wong
5:46 p.m.: Chicago Cubs expand COVID-19 testing to the families of players and coaches
The Chicago Cubs are expanding their efforts in the battle against the coronavirus by inviting the families of uniformed personnel to participate in testing.
Cubs President Theo Epstein said Thursday the wives of several players have been through the testing process. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy revealed Wednesday that he spent 30 days quarantined after testing positive and wanted to share his experience with players and their families. Read more here. — Mark Gonzales
5:23 p.m.: Lightfoot orders anyone coming to Chicago from states where COVID-19 is surging to quarantine for 14 days
People coming to Chicago from 15 states experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases must self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering the city beginning next week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced late Thursday afternoon.
The city ordered the quarantine for anyone who has spent more than 24 hours in the following states before arriving in Chicago: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
The order, which will go into effect on Monday, does not apply to people who are at the airport for a connecting flight or driving through the city on their way elsewhere, city officials said.
“Like every action we have taken in response to the COVID-19 crisis, this decision was difficult but necessary in order to ensure the continued health and safety of Chicago’s residents and businesses,” Lightfoot said in a statement.
Anyone violating the order could face fines of $100 to $500 per day, up to a maximum $7,000, the city said.Under the order, “quarantine means staying at a single designated home or dwelling for 14 days before doing any activities outside of the home or dwelling,” the city said.
The order by Lightfoot mirrors a similar measure taken in New York City. It was unclear how the city plans to monitor or enforce the order.With neighboring Indiana and other states pausing their reopening plans or even moving backward as new cases of the coronavirus surge, officials in Chicago and Illinois said Wednesday they have no plans to alter loosened rules that took effect statewide last week.
Lightfoot previously said the city tracks its data closely and will “not hesitate” to take action if they see an upward swing. Read more here. — Gregory Pratt
4:23 p.m.: Hurricane Harbor may reopen soon, but Six Flags Great America still questionable
Six Flags’ Hurricane Harbor water parks in Gurnee and Rockford may be reopening soon, though a reopening for Six Flags Great America remains less certain.
More than a month has passed since Six Flags laid out how it thought it could reopen as safely as possible considering the ongoing pandemic, but its Gurnee-based amusement and water parks remain closed, as do all amusement parks, trampoline parks and indoor playgrounds.
Six Flags has received word from the Governor’s Office that its two water parks are allowed to begin opening, spokeswoman Caitlin Kepple said. An opening date has not yet been set.
“Our full-time team is now back on property and working to implement our comprehensive reopening safety plan so that we can welcome guests to Hurricane Harbor Chicago and Hurricane Harbor Rockford soon,” she said in an email. Read more here. — Emily K. Coleman
4:21 p.m.: Of the COVID-19 pregnancy cases reported in Illinois, Black and Latina women make up over 70%
At around 25 weeks pregnant with her first child, a 21-year-old Hispanic woman became infected with COVID-19.
The young woman’s doctors at St. Anthony Hospital in Little Village were just learning more about the coronavirus as it hit Illinois in the spring, and they wanted to monitor the baby’s growth.
But her insurance did not initially approve the growth ultrasound, her doctors said. So they had to wait to schedule a scan to check her baby. This delayed their ability to assess the pregnancy and created extra stress.
“There were a lot of barriers for her,” said Margarita Flores, a St. Anthony midwife who helped treat her.
When she delivered in June, she was diagnosed with preeclampsia — high blood pressure in pregnancy that can lead to serious, or even fatal, complications for both mom and baby. The baby was born small.
The mom and her baby, whose names were not shared for privacy reasons, are doing well now, said Flores and her doctors.
The coronavirus has amplified the challenges pregnant women face. And even more so for Black and Latina women, who might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19, according to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and who experience extra burdens of not only implicit racism within the health care industry, but also socioeconomic factors that can impact their ability to access care. Read more here. — Alison Bowen
3:32 p.m.: Chili Davis, the former Cubs hitting coach, will work remotely when the Mets open camp because of COVID-19 concerns
Former Chicago Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis will keep working remotely when the New York Mets open summer training camp Friday.
The New York Post was first to report that Davis, 60, won’t be on site at Citi Field for the beginning of practices because of concerns about the coronavirus.
“The timeline for him to join us is uncertain yet,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said on a video call Thursday.
The Post, citing unidentified sources in its report, said Davis does not have the virus.
Davis was the Cubs hitting coach in 2018 but was fired nine days after the Rockies beat the Cubs in the National League wild-card game. Read more here. — Mike Fitzpatrick
2:31 p.m.: 869 new known COVID-19 cases, 36 additional deaths
Illinois health officials Thursday reported 869 new known cases of COVID-19 and 36 additional confirmed fatalities, bringing the total number of known cases to 144,882 and the confirmed death toll to 6,987.
—Chicago Tribune staff
1:44 p.m., (Updated 5:43 p.m.): Federal judge denies GOP request to prevent Pritzker’s crowd limit rule from applying to political gatherings
A southern Illinois judge on Thursday declared Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s orders aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 to be void, saying state law doesn’t allow governors to extend disaster proclamations beyond 30 days.Pritzker first declared a statewide disaster because of the pandemic on March 9 and has issued extensions every 30 days.
The implications of Clay County Circuit Judge Michael Mchaney’s order, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed by state Rep. Darren Bailey, were not immediately clear. The state is in the fourth phase of Pritzker’s reopening plans and continues to be under a number or restrictions, including on crowd sizes and on how businesses can operate.
The ruling came hours after U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis denied the Illinois Republican Party’s request to temporarily block Pritzker’s limit on gatherings from applying to political parties.
The Clay County ruling is the latest twist in a legal battle that has raised the profile of Bailey, a Xenia Republican who is running for a state Senate seat in the November election.
Bailey has drawn personal rebukes from the governor and was kicked off the House floor in a bipartisan vote during the General Assembly’s special session in May for violating a rule requiring lawmakers to wear masks.
McHaney previously ruled in Bailey’s favor, exempting him personally from Pritzker’s stay-at-home order. Bailey later withdrew and refiled his lawsuit, bringing the case back before the judge. The governor’s office attempted to move the case court, but a federal judge in southern Illinois sent it back to Clay County.”
This is a victory for freedom. This is a victory for the people of Illinois,” Bailey said Thursday outside the courthouse, where he was greeted by supporters, some of whom wore T-shirts that read “My governor is an idiot” on the front and “Fire Pritzker” on the back but none of whom appeared to be wearing the face coverings required under Pritzker’s executive order.
Pritzker spokeswoman Emily Bittner downplayed the significance of the ruling in a statement.”Every other court — both state and federal — that has considered these exact issues has agreed with the administration that executive orders protecting Illinoisans’ health and safety are well within the governor’s constitutional authority,” Bittner said. “This includes a federal court decision earlier today.”
The Illinois attorney general’s office is expected to appeal the ruling in state court. Read more here. —Dan Petrella
1:24 p.m.: Illinois Holocaust Museum reopens July 15 in Skokie
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in north suburban Skokie will reopen to visitors July 15 — with free admission for the day and limits on the number of visitors at any one time. The museum, devoted to the subject of the Holocaust in mission but in practice embracing a wide range of subjects and exhibits having to do with tolerance and human rights, also has announced an extension of the popular current “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
The exhibit about the Supreme Court justice and her popularity now will run through Jan. 3, 2021. Before the closure, said museum marketing vice president Marcy Larson, “‘RBG’ had been on track to be one of the most popular we’ve ever had.”
Read more here. —Doug George
1:22 p.m.: Brookfield Zoo has reopened, and the animals might outnumber the humans
Brookfield Zoo is reopening this week, albeit slowly, with lions and tigers and zoo members first. The zoo’s gates swung open Wednesday for those holding seasonal memberships, with the general public to follow July 8. Tickets are being sold at reduced capacity, with timed admissions and only in advance.
On a hot and sunny first morning with temperatures edging their way towards 90 degrees, those admissions were just a trickle, with whole tree-lined boulevards inside the park free from strollers, crowds, humans of any kind. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like it was just you and the animals, this is your chance.
But be warned not all exhibits are open yet. Visitors will not be able to enter any of the indoor habitats — so still closed are the primate houses, the dolphins and aquatic shows, and all of the indoor bird and aviary exhibits. But that leaves a lot open in the zoo’s 216 acres of grounds — including the lions, tigers and big cats, bears, hoofed animals such as bison and zebra, kangaroos and more.
Read more here. —Doug George
1:21 p.m.: Mayor Lori Lightfoot, city officials threaten to shut down bars that don’t follow social distancing guidelines
The city of Chicago will shut down bars that aren’t following social distancing guidelines and increase patrols in “problem areas,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other officials told liquor license holders on a conference call ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.
“If you squander this opportunity we will shut you down and you will not reopen anytime soon,” Lightfoot said on the call, according to two sources.
Maureen Martino, executive director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, said the message from the mayor was clear and stern.
“Obviously the mayor has been very careful about reopening because of the virus and we don’t want to go backwards. It’s everyone’s best interests to follow the rules,” Martino said. “A couple bad operators can set us back. We’re hoping to make the mayor proud this weekend.”
On the call, the city said that the Chicago Police Department and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department would be proactively canvassing “problems areas,” with potential for immediate closure orders and citations of up to $10,000 each on bar owners that aren’t following rules.
A PowerPoint slide with that message said: “The time for education is over.”
Read more here. —Gregory Pratt
12:23 p.m.: Horses stand idle and clowns call it quits as the coronavirus cancels Illinois rodeos. ‘This is the first time ever that we won’t have a rodeo.’
Forty horses are crowded around Lenora Calzavara, their breath hot and their tails swishing.
These aren’t riding horses, waiting for someone to take them out for a trot. These are rodeo horses, bred for their ability to buck riders off in less than eight seconds.
A horse named Mafia Witch is the queen bee in the bunch, with her witchy-white mane blowing in the wind. She was the 2016 world champion bareback horse.
There’s her son, a blonde called Capone; another bareback bronc, the copper-colored mare named Angel Heart, and Shaken Not Stirred, a light brown saddle bronc who bucks his riders out of the saddle.
Summer is usually the busiest time of year for the horses, who travel from rodeo to rodeo, throwing off riders and entertaining crowds.
But for months, the horses haven’t done much besides graze on Calzavara’s pasture in Harvard, Illinois.
“They are all bored to death because this is the first time ever that we won’t have a rodeo,” said Calzavara, owner of Big Hat Rodeo.
Read more here. —Ally Marotti
10:25 a.m.: Alabama college students held coronavirus parties and whoever got virus first won cash prize, officials say
Several college students in an Alabama city organized “COVID-19” parties as a contest to see who would get the virus first, officials said.
Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students hosted the parties to intentionally infect each other with the new coronavirus, news outlets reported.
McKinstry said party organizers purposely invited guests who tested positive for COVID-19. She said the students put money in a pot and whoever got COVID first would get the cash.
“It makes no sense,” McKinstry said. “They’re intentionally doing it.”
Read more here. —Associated Press
10:20 a.m.: Bars and nightclubs are becoming dangerous hot spots for COVID-19, health experts warn’
When the bars in Michigan reopened in June, Tony Hild forgot about face masks, social distancing and caution and headed out to Harper’s Restaurant and Brewpub, a popular spot in the college town of East Lansing. There was a line out the door. Inside were 200 people dancing, drinking and shouting over the music.
“It was just so crowded, and I’m like, ‘This is going against everything I’m told not to do,'” said Hild, 23, a college student. “But I didn’t think I was going to get it.”
As people eager for a night out flood back into public after months of confinement, public health experts say that college-town bars, nightclubs and corner taverns are becoming dangerous new hot spots for the coronavirus, seeding infections in thousands of mostly young adults and adding to surging cases nationwide.
Louisiana health officials tied at least 100 coronavirus cases to bars in the Tigerland nightlife district in Baton Rouge. Minnesota has traced 328 recent cases to bars across the state.
And in East Lansing, home to Michigan State University, nearly 140 cases have been linked to Harper’s, Hild included. He came down with a sore throat, chest pains and fatigue, and by then — more than a week later — he had already visited four other restaurants.
Read more here. —The New York Times
10:18 a.m.: For some suburban theaters, reopening not feasible with fraction of audience capacity
As some entertainment venues are starting to slowly welcome patrons back, others are finding it’s not feasible to open under the state’s Phase 4 guidelines.
Among those is the Tivoli Theatre in downtown Downers Grove, part of the family-owned Classic Cinemas movie theaters. The historic 1,012-seat theater had planned to open June 26, but was caught off guard when the guidelines issued June 22 in Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan allowed for a lower audience capacity than anticipated. Per the state’s guidelines, theaters should operate “at lesser of 50 guests OR 50% of overall theater or performance space capacity.”
“We can open, but … because (the Tivoli) only has a single screen, that would be 50 people per show time and there’s no way we can make that work financially,” said Chris Johnson, CEO of Classic Cinemas.
“It doesn’t mean we won’t reopen at some point, it just makes it extremely challenging.”‘
Read more here. —Kathy Cichon
10 a.m.: Wrigley Field rooftops reach agreement with city to open for Cubs games, rooftop manager says
The city of Chicago has approved rooftops around Wrigley Field opening at 25 percent capacity for Cubs games, according to the general manager of a rooftop venue.
“We can open our rooftop,” said Freddy Fagenholz, general manager of Murphy’s Rooftop.
Fagenholz said he received a call from the city Wednesday that their license was approved with safety restrictions related to COVID-19.
Read more here. —Madeline Buckley
9:15 a.m.: What’s it like as COVID-19 Phase 4 allows jazz clubs like Andy’s to reopen
When Chicago guitarist Andy Brown headed out for his gig Wednesday night at Andy’s Jazz Club, he realized he’d forgotten something.
“I was so excited as I walked out of my house, I was halfway to my garage when I realized” what he had left behind, Brown told the audience during his first set. “My guitar.”
So he rushed back inside to get it.That’s what happens when you haven’t played a concert gig in 3-1/2 months.
But Brown and his bandmates – pianist Jeremy Kahn and bassist Joe Policastro – clearly have been practicing during the shutdown, judging by their exuberant performance at Andy’s, which reopened last weekend. Each instrumentalist packed so much melodic content and rhythmic drive into their solos, it sounded as if they were unleashing a torrent of pent-up musicality. Which, of course, they were.
“I was sort of planning for this period,” said Brown in an interview. “The game hadn’t even begun till this past weekend,” when phase four of the state’s reopening plan allowed clubs to reopen at 25% occupancy.
Read more here. —Howard Reich
7:05 a.m.: Chicago to focus on ticketing bar, restaurant violations of COVID-19 guidelines over July 4 weekend
Chicago’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department on Thursday “will begin ramping up its enforcement” of health guidelines for phase four of the state’s coronavirus reopening plan, especially at bars and restaurants, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
The city has focused on reaching out and educating businesses up to this point, but this weekend expects to focus on writing tickets up to $10,000 “related to social distancing, capacity limits and face coverings,” according to the release.
City inspectors also are now able to immediately order the close of businesses they believe are committing “egregious” violations of the guidelines, according to the release.
Among the rules under the city’s version of phase four: customers must practice social distancing and use face coverings; bars and restaurants have to keep to 25% of indoor capacity or 50 people; alcohol sales end at 11 p.m.; and lines outside must be managed.
The city’s encouraging anyone who sees violations to call 311.
Since phase three of COVID-19 reopening began June 3, the city has issued 59 warnings or notices to correct and 9 citations, after 377 investigations of violations.
—Chicago Tribune staff
6 a.m.: Lightfoot dismissed questions about ability to afford new CTU contract if economy tanked. Then COVID-19 hit, damaging CPS budget for years.
After the Chicago Board of Education approved an expensive new teachers’ contract last fall following a bitter strike, Mayor Lori Lightfoot dismissed as “100% wrong” the notion that the school district could have trouble affording the deal if there was an economic downturn.
Then came COVID-19, stay-at-home orders and a resulting recession that has hammered public finances across the country. Now, the financial fault lines that the Tribune identified have been breached as Chicago Public Schools officials try to put together a new spending plan in the coming weeks.
There are short-term problems: The state, which has its own financial woes, did not include extra education funding in its new budget that CPS was counting on to help pay for the teacher contract. And property tax collections the district is heavily relying on could decline because people and businesses might not have the wherewithal to pay their bills.
Over the longer haul, the school district faces the double-whammy prospect of further erosion in property tax collections and higher pension contribution costs triggered by the economic downturn, budget analysts said.
Read more here. —Hal Dardick and Hannah Leone
6 a.m.: You think the first half of 2020 was unpredictable? Wait until the second half.
The first six months of 2020 have been, shall we say, a lot: a whipsaw presidential primary, a worldwide pandemic, economic collapse and massive, sometimes violent protests over police brutality and racial injustice.
If little of that was predictable, imagine how volatile the next six months might be.
While COVID-19 cases are decreasing in Illinois, a sharp contrast to other areas of the country, nearly all plans for major events remain subject to change. But as it stands, schools will return to in-person instruction, some safety net benefits related to the pandemic will cease and the Chicago Bears will start their season by playing the Detroit Lions at noon on Sept. 13.
That’s the plan, anyway. As 2020 has amply demonstrated, who knows how things will actually shake out? Here are some things to look forward to in the second half of 2020.
Read more here. —John Keilman, Madeline Buckley
Breaking coronavirus news
Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.
Here are five things that happened Wednesday related to coronavirus in Illinois:
As other states reverse course amid COVID-19 surge, Illinois and Chicago officials said they’re watching metrics but have no plans yet to tighten restrictions.
Illinois will open more small-business development centers, including 5 in Chicago, to help COVID-19 recovery
Brookfield Zoo reopening at reduced capacity — right now there may be more animals outside than people.
McDonald’s plan to reopen dining rooms has been put on hold as COVID-19 cases surge in parts of U.S.
Taste of Chicago To-Go details announced.
