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Good morning, Chicago. Here’s the coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Illinois announced six new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday and 614 new confirmed cases. Meanwhile, two Chicago-area counties reached milestones.
The state’s Northeast region — which includes Chicago and its suburbs — has a 4.2% positivity rate. Here’s where each region stands on key COVID-19 metrics.
With a host of new public activities now available, how do you figure out how much risk is safe for you to take? Use this COVID-19 risk assessment chart.
COVID-19 cases are spiking in states across the country. How does Illinois compare?
Across the country, states have either delayed reopening or reimposed restrictions amid surges in COVID-19 cases that have begun packing hospitals. Waiting on the sidelines, at least for now, is Illinois, where health officials are watching daily statistics uneasily as the state continues to allow its residents more freedom to travel, visit and shop.
Those statistics offer some good news for Illinoisans, at first blush: We’re far below peak case levels, and not even close to being as bad as the most struggling states. The bad news: Illinois’ big drops of late May and early June are history — and some daily metrics are increasing.
The city of Chicago fined five businesses for violating social distancing rules over the weekend and also shut down the operator of a Lake Michigan party boat.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she wants “all of us to feel this loss” after another weekend of violence in Chicago yet again took a toll on the city’s children, including the killing of a 7-year-old girl. The first charges were filed in that case Monday, a slaying police said was the result of gang violence.
Column: What one mother’s grief can teach us about responding to Chicago’s heartbreaking violence
Thousands of Chicago-area businesses got PPP loans worth $1 million or more
From museums and restaurants to law firms and supermarkets, nearly 4,000 Illinois businesses and nonprofits were approved for PPP loans worth $1 million or more, according to data released by the Small Business Administration.
The Brookfield Zoo, Cubs’ sponsor Sloan Valve, Willow Creek Church and Baird & Warner are among the 255 Illinois organizations with PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million — the most allowed under the program. Here’s a look at other prominent Chicago-area companies that received at least $1 million in PPP loans.
27,412 Illinois companies got PPP loans of more than $150,000: Search our database
‘Nothing I’d ever seen before’: Illegal fireworks light up Chicago skies over July 4 weekend
Officially, the city’s Fourth of July festivities were canceled due to COVID-19 social distancing considerations. Unofficially, numerous illegal fireworks displays exploded over the Chicago skyline Saturday night.
Continuing a trend seen throughout the summer, the city received an unusually high number of emergency calls for fireworks disturbances leading up to and during the holiday weekend. As of Sunday, the city had received a total of 19,925 fireworks-related calls this year, compared with 4,612 calls by the same date last year — a 332% increase.
Here’s what to know about sex and dating in phase four
In Chicago, many lockdown restrictions have lifted and we’re settling into a new phase. Naturally, more people will want to date and have sex, and with this comes new questions on how to navigate those safely.
Two experts answer some of the most pressing questions around sex and dating while the risk of contracting COVID-19 persists, but the state lockdowns loosen.
