Latest coronavirus news for June 29, 2020: Live updates

Here’s what we know today about the continuing spread of the coronavirus and its ripple effects in Chicago and Illinois.

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The latest

Troubled nursing home tried to boot woman whose daughter criticized facility, suit says

Lottie Smith, 82, seen after a fall in late May.

Lottie Smith, 82, seen after a fall in late May.

Provided

A west suburban nursing home where 12 residents have died of the coronavirus plotted to kick out an elderly woman because her daughter criticized the troubled facility, according to a lawsuit the daughter has filed in Cook County circuit court.

Lottie Smith, 82, was in the Westchester Health and Rehabilitation Center in Westchester in late March when she appeared to be suffering from COVID-19 symptoms, according to the suit her daughter Loretta Brady filed against the nursing home.

“The administrator should have been more attentive to the residents,” according to Brady, who said her mother was diagnosed with the coronavirus, ultimately recovered and remains in the same facility. “Our complaints fell on deaf ears.”

On March 25, Smith was sent to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with a high fever and difficulty breathing, according to the suit. She returned to the nursing home but again was hospitalized April 26 after falling and having seizures, the lawsuit said, and she fell four more times in May.

Reporter Frank Main has the full story.


News

8:20 p.m. Top cop’s mom tests positive for COVID-19

As gun violence gripped Chicago on another summer weekend, Chicago Police Department Supt. David Brown took an impromptu trip to Texas to visit with his mother after she tested positive Friday for COVID-19.

Police spokesman Howard Ludwig said Brown spent a little more than a day in his hometown of Dallas, where he visited his mother through a window.

“The superintendent has complete faith in the leadership team that handles the day-to-day operations of the Chicago Police Department,” Ludwig said.

Reporter Tom Schuba has the full story.

7:05 p.m. Illinois reports 14 more coronavirus deaths, lowest tally in months

A phlebotomist draws blood for a coronavirus antibody test in May in the parking lot of St. Rosalie Catholic Parish in Harwood Heights.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Illinois reported its fewest number of COVID-19 deaths in three months for the second day in a row as the state’s reopening is underway.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported an additional 14 COVID-caused deaths on Monday bringing the state’s death toll to 6,902. The victims lived in Cook County, DuPage County and Perry County and were between the ages of 30 and 90 years old.

It’s the fewest number of deaths the state has registered since March 30, when just eight were recorded. This is also the sixth consecutive day of falling COVID-19 deaths — just 15 deaths were recorded Sunday — as the state continues Phase 4 of reopening.

Reporter Manny Ramos has the full story.

6:15 p.m. Venting or violence? Police probe death threats against Gov. Pritzker over his COVID-19 orders

A boat floats by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Wisconsin home bearing a sign that says “Pritzker sucks.”

Provided photo.

Illinois State Police have investigated 11 violent threats against Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker since the COVID-19 pandemic began, including an email from a man who vowed to “put a bullet through” the governor’s brain.

In another incident, a social media user asked in late May, “Anyone got a high powered sniper rifle I can have? The governor needs to die and I will gladly kill him.” Illinois State Police said they reached that person in the Chicago area, who said it was an attempt to “vent.”

The governor, who lives in Chicago’s Gold Coast, alluded to some of the threats during a May 15 news conference in which he was asked about the whereabouts of his family amid reports they were at his Wisconsin home during the stay-at-home order.

“I’ve been very private and reserved when it comes to my children, and it’s because there are threats to my safety and to their safety,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker’s office said there have also been incidents at Pritzker’s Lake Geneva home, including a bag of garbage thrown onto his property that read “JB Pritzker snacks.”

The governor’s office provided the Sun-Times with a photo of the bag of garbage as well as photos of a man flipping off the home from atop a boat, and another of a boater with a printed sign that read “Pritzker Sucks.” No members of the Pritzker family were home during those incidents.

Reporter Tina Sfondeles has the exclusive story.


4:23 p.m. Bears offer refunds to ticket holders, still determining Soldier Field’s ‘safe’ fan capacity

Fans at Soldier Field for BTS concert , May 11, 2019. | Mark Brayboy/For the Sun-Times

Fans at Soldier Field for BTS concert , May 11, 2019.

Mark Brayboy/For the Sun-Times

After sticking to a firm deadline for season-ticket renewals in March, the Bears are offering full refunds for the upcoming season. Season-ticket holders can get their money back and retain the rights to their seats for the 2021 season.

It’s a near certainty the Bears won’t be able to hold capacity crowds at Soldier Field this season because of the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s in question whether fans will be allowed at all. The NFL has not released any policy despite preseason games beginning Aug. 13.

“The presence of and the exact number of fans that will be allowed into Soldier Field has not yet been determined,” the team said in a letter sent to season-ticket holders Monday. “Our hope is to build a model that provides the opportunity to see the Bears play this fall to as many Season Ticket Holders as possible.”

The letter acknowledged, “the experience this season will be different.” That’s true for coaches and players, too, and they’re still waiting on safety protocols from the league.

The NFL has proceeded with business as usual and has the advantage of observing restart attempts by the NBA, NHL and MLB before players report for training camp July 28. It is widely assumed that the NFL will cancel two preseason games — it already canceled the Aug. 6 Hall of Fame game — but it is otherwise preparing to play the season as scheduled.

Read the full story from Jason Lieser here.


3:38 p.m. Florida site of GOP convention orders wearing of masks

The city of Jacksonville, Florida, where mask-averse President Donald Trump plans to accept the Republican nomination in August, ordered the wearing of face coverings Monday, joining the list of state and local governments reversing course to try to beat back a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Less than a week after Mayor Lenny Curry said that there would be no mask requirement, city officials announced that coverings would be required in “situations where individuals cannot socially distance.”

White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said the president’s advice is to “do whatever your local jurisdiction requests of you.”

Trump has refused to wear a mask on recent trips to states and businesses that require them.

Read the full report here.

1:15 p.m. Chicago’s theaters finding little light at the end of the tunnel amid COVID-19

For some theaters, digital content has been a means of keeping audiences engaged in lieu of COVID-19-canceled shows. But no matter how many views these streams get, they don’t even come close to making up for lost revenue generated by traditional runs. And while Illinois entered Phase 4 re-opening on June 26 — allowing for gatherings of 50 people or less — it’s a pyrrhic victory for Chicago’s theaters.

“Everybody knows 2020 is over as far as live performances go. The real fear is what’s going to happen in 2021,” said Ellen Placey-Wadey, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation’s senior program director for arts and collections.

Some theaters already know: So far, COVID-19 casualties include the permanent closure of the Mercury Theatre, the comedy powerhouse iO, and Lou Conte Dance Studio. For those still standing, all planned live 2020 productions are canceled. With loans from the eight-week Payroll Protection Program (PPP) dwindling, and no shows on the horizon before 2021, everyone is on shifting sand. Streaming, theater operators say, doesn’t much improve the terrain.

Read the full story from Catey Sullivan here.

11:06 a.m. Ultramarathoner runs 218 miles to virus-stricken grandmother’s nursing home

Endurance athlete Corey Cappelloni once ran six days through the Sahara Desert in what’s considered the most grueling foot race on Earth. But a 218-mile run to grandma after she was sickened with COVID-19 turned out to be the longest, toughest and most rewarding of his life.

Cappelloni spent seven days covering the distance from his home in Washington, D.C., to the nursing home where 98-year-old Ruth Andres, lives in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, arriving June 19 to cheers, flags and purple balloons, her favorite color.

Dozens of workers at the Allied Services Skilled Nursing & Rehab Center applauded as he crossed the finish line. Out of breath but smiling, he pointed to “Nana’s” fourth-floor room, where she peered through the window. A sign hung outside read, “I Love You Corey.”

“Nana, you’re a strong person,” Cappelloni said into a cellphone and microphone, as a nurse held up the other end of the line to Andres. “You’re going on 99, and you still have many more miles.”

Unable to visit in person out of safety concerns for residents, he promised to give her a long-awaited hug soon.

Cappelloni’s “Run for Ruth” has raised more than $24,000 so far for smartphones and tablets to help older adults isolated due to the pandemic communicate with loved ones.

Read the full story here.

10:19 a.m. Is it safe to have concerts yet? Musicians weigh in

Musicians are debating the safety of hosting concerts now as coronavirus cases in the U.S. continue to rise after Kelsea Ballerini called out her fellow country singer Chase Rice over his performance for a jam-packed crowd Saturday night.

Brian May, Vice President of the Brushy Mountain Group, told USA TODAY that “all local requirements” were followed and less than 1,000 guests were in attendance Saturday night at the Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, “providing ample space in the outdoor lawn area for fans to spread out to their own comfort level.”

“We were unable to further enforce the physical distancing recommended in the signage posted across the property and are looking into future alternative scenarios that further protect the attendees, artists and their crews and our employees,” May added. “We are reevaluating the series from the top to bottom – from implementing further safety measures, to adding stanchions, to converting the space to drive-in style concerts, to postponing shows.”

“this is really not good,” tweeted Dresden Dolls singer Amanda Palmer. ”musicians, & their managers, & venues (& promotors....all the way down the line) have a huge responsibility to the common good RIGHT NOW to not make a bad situation worse. the arts should be leading culture, not endangering it.”

The Mountain Goats lamented “the people in this audience, along with the presenters of this show, are assuring that conscientious musicians won’t be able to work their jobs for a while, and that conscientious audiences won’t be able to see shows for the foreseeable, and to be blunt, that (expletive) sucks.”

Read the full story here.

8:24 a.m. Former county health chief: Racism common factor in deaths in ’95 Chicago heat wave, COVID-19

As temperatures shot up to a frightening 106 degrees on July 13, 1995 — and remained stuck in double digits for five days — bodies began to pile up at the office of Cook County Medical Examiner, Dr. Edmund Donoghue. By the time it was over, some 739 poor and elderly Chicagoans — mostly people of color — had died.

Nationally, racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality were first highlighted by officials in Illinois and Chicago. Statistics reported last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed Blacks and Native Americans dying from the disease at a rate five times that of whites; and Latinos, at a rate four times higher.

In Chicago, Blacks comprise 43.6 percent of the COVID-19 deaths; Latinos, 31.6 percent.

The ‘95 heat wave changed how the city responds to extreme temperatures, leading to more stringent heat emergency planning nationwide. But advocates question whether cities are adequately prepared for this summer’s collision of heat, pandemic and revolution.

“This is what I’m concerned about. My great-great-grandmother told me stories as a child about lynchings in the South, about whites killing Blacks. And I am a child of the ’60s,” said Murray, who is still advocating against racial inequities, most recently participating in a demonstration by “White Coats for Black Lives,” held June 4 at the old county hospital.

Read the full story by Maudlyne Ihejirika here.


New cases


Analysis & Commentary

6:45 p.m. Take it from me: COVID-19 is serious

My experience with the coronavirus began well before I became infected. Like many, I was caught off guard by the abrupt shift to sheltering in place. And like many, I worried about the impact on my family — especially due to the return of my college-aged children, one of them a senior deeply saddened that his collegiate experience had been cut short and that he had to say goodbye to his friends far sooner than expected.

I was also concerned about the need to balance our office’s responsibility to serve the public with protecting the health and wellness of employees. Throughout the pandemic, some employees have worked remotely. Others continue to report to our offices around the state.

We must now address concerns brought on by the pandemic, such as investigating price-gouging and employers not protecting employees from COVID-19, and defending Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders against lawsuits.

It has been extremely troubling that this pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color. The protests for racial justice add to the urgency.

Read the full column from Illinois attorney general Kwame Raoul.

7:26 a.m. Make ACT and SAT scores optional — not mandatory — in college admissions

If you’re a rising high school senior gearing up for the grueling college application process this fall, you might well breathe a sigh of relief at this recent news:

Your odds of sidestepping the 4-hour-long ACT or SAT are better than 50-50.

More than half of all U.S. colleges and universities have now dropped the requirement that students submit ACT or SAT scores when applying for fall 2021 admission, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing.

Among the latest: the University of Illinois at Chicago and in Springfield last Thursday, and Northwestern University a little over a week ago.

In reality, schools right now don’t have much choice. The College Board already has cancelled testing dates across the country because of COVID-19, and “you can’t require a test that students don’t have access to,” as Kevin Browne, UIC’s vice provost of academic affairs, told us.

Read the full editorial here.

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