Coronavirus
The latest news about the novel coronavirus COVID-19 with a focus on its impact on Chicago and Illinois.
State senators tasked with clearing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appointments are raising concerns over his renomination of Illinois Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau after the Sun-Times last year reported an executive assistant accounted for more than $240,000 in billings.
The transit agency says 29 bus routes will get more service as it tries to reach pre-pandemic service levels.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Barry Croft Jr., 47, the fourth and final federal defendant to learn his fate. Judge Robert J. Jonker called Croft “the idea guy” behind the plan to abduct Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Mayor says mask “advisory” is coming as virus cases rise.
Masks reduce the risk of viral transmission from the so-called “tripledemic.”
The mayor, who said she was asymptomatic, also came down with the virus in January.
After a three-month hiatus, the administration is making four rapid virus tests available via website starting Thursday.
“Kids can’t cope with pain like adults,” said Gwen Smith, a mom of three from Chicago’s North Side. “It’d be like torture, in a way, to have to witness your child suffering if your local pharmacy doesn’t have what you need.”
Four workers in other county departments have quit or been fired this year while under suspicion of defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
“The bottom line is we have protection available. It’s just upon all of us now to make sure people use those tools,” the surgeon general said.
Within months, the government plans to stop footing the bill — and millions of the uninsured and seniors might have to pay full price. Experts say that means fewer people will get the potentially life-saving treatments.
The supply backlogs of the past two years — and the delays, shortages and outrageous prices that came with them — have improved dramatically since summer.
The delivery services will refund $8.5 million to struggling Chicago restaurants — and pay $1.5 million more to the city — to settle claims that the companies ignored a 15% cap on delivery fees and listed restaurants without their consent.
Hospital admissions for COVID-19 have jumped more than 26% in the last week alone, putting them on pace to hit numbers not seen since mid-February.
River North restaurants have cut 20.2 hours per week, on average, since COVID hit. Restaurant owners cite reasons including inflation, lack of workers and changing consumer habits. But the biggest issue may be the sluggish return to workers downtown.
A loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in public health funding and low booster shot participation could lead to another surge, Dr. Allison Arwady says.
If you haven’t had your COVID-19 fall 2022 booster, now is the time, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Though not much is known about the newest coronavirus strains, experts say the bivalent booster should offer some protection. Here’s what you should know.
Only 13% of eligible Chicagoans have gotten the latest COVID-19 booster, which is recommended for everyone 5 and older.
The Boost Up campaign will run ads throughout suburban Cook County highlighting the triple-threat danger of COVID-19, the flu and RSV.
The mayor’s proposal beefs up the Office of Climate and Environmental Equity and places it under a director confirmed by the City Council, but her critics on the Budget Committee wanted a lot more.
Former Ald. Bob Fioretti blames Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for surging crime, claiming she “put the county in danger with reckless spending, over-taxation and flat out incompetence.” She counters that “12 years of hard work in the job I hold” separates her from Fioretti, who is waging his sixth campaign in seven years.
Local pediatric ERs are already dealing with a surge of RSV, but an uptick of flu and COVID-19 could be on the way at the same time.
“We are not where we need to be as a city, in people getting that fall 2022 booster,” a costumed Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs said 23 staff and 42 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Illinois Veterans’ Home at LaSalle. No one has required hospitalization.
Working from home and financial aid during the pandemic contributed to more college-educated women giving birth in 2021 and 2022.
The Cook County Promise pilot program is the latest pilot in the Chicago area that will give selected residents $500 a month for two years with no strings attached. The deadline to apply is Friday.
Less than 10% of eligible residents have rolled up their sleeves for updated vaccines.
Cook County Board President Preckwinkle is offering bold spending plans, armed with roughly $1 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money. But she needs workers to pull these plans off, and faces more than 4,000 vacancies. “We’re working towards a more just, prosperous and equitable future,” Preckwinkle said on Thursday.
Delivering a budget address to the City Council Monday that will serve as her reelection platform, Lightfoot laid out the details behind her $16.4 billion spending plan, including steps to ease violence and fight poverty.
The pandemic created political superheroes and villains. In Illinois, Pritzker was both — lauded for stepping up to former President Donald Trump and fighting for COVID-19 resources, and lambasted by those who viewed him as an authoritarian who shut down much of the state.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez will be at the event in Little Village, as will organizations offering free immigration and public health resources, plus a slew of vaccines.