Coronavirus live blog, July 27, 2020: Lightfoot showcases $33 million in relief for renters and property owners

Illinois announced its sixth straight day of more than 1,200 new COVID-19 cases and a positivity rate that keeps creeping up.

The coronavirus pandemic is far from over in Illinois. Here’s what happened Monday in Chicago and around the state in coronavirus-related news.

News

8:55 p.m. Lightfoot showcases $33 million in relief for renters and property owners

Three months after unveiling a non-binding “Housing Solidarity Pledge” that appeased no one, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday showcased $33 million in relief for renters and property owners bankrolled by federal stimulus funds and local philanthropies.

Shortly after the stay-at-home shutdown triggered by the coronavirus, Lightfoot offered 2,000 Chicagoans struggling to stay in their homes grants of $1,000 apiece. The $2 million was nowhere near enough to meet the demand from 83,000 applicants.

Now, those who struck out in Round One will be “automatically transferred” to a $25 million Round 2, “more than ten times” the initial investment made by the Chicago Department of Housing There is no need to re-apply.

Together with $8 million from the Department of Family and Support Services, Chicago is dedicating $33 million to “eviction and foreclosure prevention,” officials said.

“Thanks to this investment, more Chicagoans will be able to stave off foreclosure, eviction and homelessness and the pain and insecurity that comes with it,” Lightfoot told a City Hall news conference.

Reporter Fran Spielman has the full story.

8:38 p.m. White Sox manager Rick Renteria passes test, expected to rejoin team

CLEVELAND — White Sox manager Rick Renteria woke up Monday morning with “a slight cough and nasal congestion” and took no chances. He would have missed the Sox’ rained out game against the Indians at Progressive Field while waiting for coronavirus test results.

The good news for Renteria, his team and baseball as a whole is that Renteria tested negative, according to major league sources, and was expected back with the team as soon as Tuesday when Monday’s rained out game is made up as part of a doubleheader.

The bad news is baseball is still teetering in a swirl of growing concerns about the pandemic. As the Sox arrived in Cleveland to open a three-game series and eight-game road trip, two games scheduled Monday were postponed after more than a dozen Miami Marlins players and staff members tested positive for the coronavirus in an outbreak that stranded the team in Philadelphia.

The Marlins’ home opener against Baltimore was called off, as was the New York Yankees’ game at Philadelphia. The Yankees would have been in the same clubhouse the Marlins used last weekend.

Reporter Daryl Van Schouwen has the full story.

7:23 p.m. Drama over safety of reopening leads theater to close again after 3 weekend shows

The tribute show to Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli that drew criticism for reopening during the pandemic is shutting down after three performances.

A statement on the Facebook page of star and co-producer Nancy Hays said the “well-meaning experiment” is closing in response to “vocal condemnation” from the public.

“We love the theatre and had no intention of causing distress or danger to anyone, so we apologize to those affected,” the statement said.

“Judy & Liza, Once in a Lifetime: The London Palladium Concert — A Tribute” had opened in March but ran less than a week before theaters were ordered closed. This remount had been slated to play through Aug. 9 at the Greenhouse Theater Center at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue.

As Friday’s reopening neared, many in the Chicago theater community chided Greenhouse owners William and Wendy Spatz for moving forward with the show, and the venue’s general manager, Derek Rienzi Van Tassel, announced his resignation on Thursday, calling the remount “foolish and dangerous.”

Read the latest here.

4:30 p.m. CPS parents skeptical of return to schools in first meeting on reopening plan

The first of five community meetings hosted by Chicago Public Schools officials about a potential fall reopening featured hundreds of questions from parents and teachers, many of which were steeped in skepticism over whether in-classroom learning could be done safely in the middle of a pandemic.

Will there be more hand-washing stations at schools? What will happen when a student tests positive for COVID-19? Are teachers expected to move between “pods” of students? What type of instruction will students receive when they opt out of in-person learning?

Top CPS leadership, including CEO Janice Jackson, gave live answers to many questions — though they only got to a fraction in the 45 minutes set aside for a Q&A session, and there were many they couldn’t answer.

Responding to a question about potential cases at schools, CPS’ chief health officer Kenneth Fox said families will be expected to self-report to the district’s Office of Student Health and Wellness, providing their symptoms, noting when they first felt sick and other personal information.

The district would then gather information from that student’s school, such as which 15-student pod they were in, who else they had contact with and what part of the school they had been in. An entire pod would be sent home if one of its students tests positive, and anyone directly in contact with the positive case would be told to quarantine for 14 days.

Read the full story from Nader Issa here.

2:45 p.m. Pritzker predicts Illinois won’t return to normalcy until 2021

QUINCY, Ill. — Considering ditching the mask? Think again.

The year that everyone can’t wait to be over won’t be ending any time soon.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that Illinois is unlikely to return to normalcy until sometime next year.

“We don’t have to do this forever,” the Democratic Governor said at a news conference in downstate Quincy. “We’re not there yet. And frankly, we’re not going to be there until 2021, in my humble opinion.

“I’m not a doctor, but that’s what my observation is, that we’re not going to be able to take off the mask and go about everything we were doing seven, eight months ago for a few more months, maybe six-plus months.”

Pritzker’s sobering prediction came as the state announced its sixth straight day of more than 1,200 new COVID-19 cases and a positivity rate that keeps creeping up.

Read the full story from Madeline Kenney and Neal Earley here.

2:30 p.m. Wisconsin being added to Chicago’s travel quarantine order

Mayor Lori LIghtfoot on Monday said the city will add Wisconsin to the list of states falling under a 14-day quarantine order.

That order that now applies to anyone arriving in Chicago from 19 states is not being strictly enforced. Compliance is voluntary.

Even so, Wisconsin’s presence on the list may make Chicagoans think twice before taking day trips to Lake Geneva or vacationing in Door County or the Wisconsin Dells.

The order has been “very successful from an education standpoint,” city health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said last week.

In making the announcement, Lightfoot warned city officials are watching “all of our neighbors” very carefully, and that Indiana is not ready for quarantine list — yet.

Read the full report from Fran Spielman here.

11:20 a.m. Paul McCartney, Chance the Rapper among Lollapalooza 2020 ‘fan-favorite’ official lineup

Lollapalooza 2020, which was moved to an online platform due to the coronavirus pandemic, announced its official lineup Monday.

The star-studded roster for the free, virtual 4-day music festival July 30-Aug. 2, includes fan-favorite sets by Paul McCartney, Chance the Rapper, Arcade Fire, Outkast, Vic Mensa, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Metallica and more, from prior Lolla fests across the globe.

Read the full story from Miriam Di Nunzio here.

9:30 a.m. Orioles-Marlins game in Miami postponed after players, coaches test positive for COVID-19

BALTIMORE — Orioles GM Mike Elias confirmed that Monday’s Orioles-Marlins game in Miami has been postponed.

ESPN reported that eight more Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for COVID-19. The Marlins now have a total of 14 cases in their clubhouse.

The Marlins opened the delayed season with a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies. The Marlins postponed their flight home Sunday night.

Read the full report from the Associated Press here.

8:29 a.m. Illinois records lowest daily COVID-19 death count since March

Health officials on Sunday announced an additional one person has died due to the coronavirus, making it the lowest reported COVID-19 death day since March 21 — three days after the state recorded its first death.

The one fatality — a 90-year-old man in Bond County — brings the state’s death toll to 7,398.

Though the state’s coronavirus fatality rate has remained relatively low this month compared to the height of the pandemic in May, Illinois continued its upward trend of new coronavirus infections Sunday as health officials announced an additional 1,541 people have tested positive for the virus.

Read the full story from Madeline Kenney here.

New cases

• Orioles GM Mike Elias confirmed that Monday’s Orioles-Marlins game in Miami has been postponed after eight more Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for COVID-19. The Marlins now have a total of 14 cases in their clubhouse.
• Illinois continued its upward trend of new coronavirus infections Sunday as health officials announced an additional 1,541 people have tested positive for the virus.
• Mel Gibson spent a week in a Los Angeles hospital in April after testing positive for COVID-19, his representative revealed Friday. The 64-year-old actor and director has completely recovered and is doing “great” according to the rep. He also said Gibson has tested negative “numerous times” since then.
• Cubs quality assurance coach Mike Napoli tested positive for COVID-19.

Analysis & Commentary

8:32 a.m. ‘Drive-in’ Mass in parking lot feeds faith, fellowship, despite sudden storm

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when my church emailed that worship services were resuming.

With attendance restrictions, how would they accommodate a robust parish of 3,000+ members, when prior to COVID-19, there were few empty seats on a Sunday?

It was “Drive-In Mass.” In the parking lot. Pastor, musician and lectors under makeshift awnings. Radios tuned to 88.1 FM to hear a service happening outside in front of you.

Aisles of hands outstretched as Eucharistic ministers walk between cars; first, a spritz of sanitizer, then edifying Communion.

As Catholics, my mother and I had bemoaned the pandemic’s separation of the faithful from their sanctuary. We got what we needed from worship services online. Yes.

But we sorely missed Communion, the consumption ritual of the Last Supper.

Read the full column from Maudlyne Ihejirika here.