Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday that the state is expanding testing for COVID-19 to include anyone with symptoms, even without a doctor’s order.

The expansion in made possible by newly available testing capacity and the ability to acquire the supplies needed to take samples in much larger numbers. The Illinois Department of Public Health’s three labs are now able to process thousands more tests per day, Pritzker said.


The news about testing came as Illinois officials announced 125 additional deaths from COVID-19, the most in a single day since the start of the outbreak, bringing the state death toll to more than 1,000.

Earlier Thursday, Pritzker’s office announced that Illinois will work in concert with governors of six other surrounding states on reopening state economies and lifting stay-at-home restrictions in place to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.


Here’s a recap of what happened on April 16 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

9:30 p.m.: COVID-19 death of ‘hardworking and dedicated,’ bus mechanic is CTA’s 3rd

The male employee, who the CTA did not identify, was a veteran bus mechanic who began working for the transit agency in 2000, according to a statement from the agency.

“I join the entire CTA family in extending our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in the statement. “For nearly 20 years, this hardworking and dedicated gentleman was committed to making sure our customers had the best transit experience possible.’’

On Tuesday, the CTA announced it had lost its second staffer who was a bus driver, who joined the CTA in 2018. The male bus operator was a “dedicated professional” who was “committed to providing the essential transit service that people rely on,” Carter, Jr. said in an earlier statement. “We hope everyone will remember and honor this employee’s service to CTA and Chicago.”

On April 11, the CTA announced its first worker had died of the disease.Antonio Martinez, a 14-year veteran of the CTA, was a machinist who worked out of the Skokie Shops heavy maintenance facility and had no contact with the public, CTA spokeswoman Irene Ferradaz said.

Of the CTA’s 11,000 staffers, just under 90 had been sickened by the disease. Read more here. — Rosemary Sobol

8:33 p.m.: As COVID-19 cases mount in nursing homes, exact locations remain a mystery

Nearly 300 Illinois nursing home patients and staff have died from COVID-19, but exactly where still remains largely cloaked in secrecy.

Unlike some states, Illinois hasn’t named specific facilities where the virus has been detected. That’s been true even in cases of significant clusters of deaths. Read more here. — Joe Maur, Robert McCoppin, Dan Hinkel, Elvia Malagón, Cecilia Reyes

7:40 p.m.: First batch of GM-made ventilators headed for Chicago

The first truckloads of General Motors-made medical ventilators rolling off a central Indiana factory floor will leave for Chicago-area hospitals Thursday night, with subsequent deliveries Friday and Saturday, GM officials said.

By the weekend, GM will have sent several dozen new machines to Chicago hospitals, with more to come later, they said. Read more here. —David Heinzmann

6:50 p.m.: Some police departments see rise in domestic disturbance cases during stay-at-home order

At least two south suburban police departments report an increase in domestic disturbance cases during the state’s stay-at-home order.


Park Forest and Tinley Park police said that while many other calls for service have dropped since the stay-at-home order took effect March 21, domestic complaints have rose for that month.

For March, Park Forest police responded to 21 more calls for domestic disturbances compared with the same month a year earlier, while Tinley Park officers had been called out to 25 more domestic calls last month compared with March 2019, according to those villages’ police chiefs.

Park Forest police Chief Christopher Mannino said he believes the increase can be attributed to the governor’s order that has disrupted daily routines and required families to spend more time in close quarters.

While not disagreeing with the stay-at-home order as a means of containing the spread of COVID-19, the chief said that “whenever you have something that disruptive to society there are bound to be consequences.” Read more here. —Mike Nolan

5:36 p.m.: ‘It may not be the same way that it was:’ Local libraries plan scenarios for eventual reopening

When public libraries finally reopen their doors after the COVID-19 shutdown ends, they won’t be quite the same places they were before, local directors say.

With expectations that social distancing will be necessary for an extended period of time and lingering concerns about the spread of COVID-19, directors of several area libraries say that reopening the buildings will likely happen in stages. They will also likely take extra precautions based on guidance from health agencies.

Directors of the Park Ridge, Niles-Maine, Morton Grove, Skokie and Lincolnwood Libraries said the plans they are developing include such measures as:

Outside pick-ups and drop-offs of requested materials

Limits on the number of patrons allowed inside libraries at any one time

Fewer pieces of furniture

New screening between patrons and staff

Cancellation of on-site programs

“It may not be the same way that it was for a long time, if ever,” said Heidi Smith, director of the Park Ridge Public Library. Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson

5:20 p.m.: Two suburban sisters came home after their college campuses closed. Within days, both their parents were in the ICU with COVID-19.

When sisters Mariel and Alexa Boden learned their universities were shutting down due to the coronavirus last month, the college freshman and senior were frustrated at the prospect of finishing the spring semester at their family home in Vernon Hills.


But within days of their arrival home, the sisters’ angst over having their college experiences cut short was swiftly replaced with fear and anxiety.


Their parents, Nancy Frohman and David Boden, who are in their 50s, have tested positive for COVID-19, and this week, the Bodens both remain in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

Just weeks since their arrival home in mid-March, Mariel, 20, and Alexa, 19, now find themselves acting as patient advocates for their parents, who are on ventilators and prohibited from having their daughters visit due to contagion concerns. Read more here. —Karen Ann Cullotta

4:50 p.m.: Photos: Wrigley Field becomes satellite site for Lakeview Pantry

Wrigley Field is now a satellite site for the Lakeview Pantry during the coronavirus pandemic. Take an inside look here. —Brian Cassella

3:50 p.m.: With 11 million jobs on the line, restaurants renew plea for government help. 80% not certain they can survive, poll says

Armed with new data showing that restaurants and bars accounted for 60 percent of the U.S. jobs lost in March, representatives of the Independent Restaurant Coalition renewed their call to Congress for more, and better, federal assistance for the industry’s 11 million workers.

In a conference call Thursday afternoon, the coalition reiterated that the recently passed CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program fail to meet the unique needs of independent restaurants — many of whom, the group said, risk permanent closure.

Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program had run out of money, and wouldn’t be accepting more applications, essentially shutting small restaurants out of the program. Read more here. —Phil Vettel

3:25 p.m.: University of Chicago hospitals ramp up coronavirus testing on South Side, in Harvey

UChicago Medicine announced Thursday that it will increase its coronavirus testing fivefold, to 1,000 tests a day – with a focus on the South Side and south suburban Harvey where black Chicagoans have been particularly hard hit during the pandemic.

Since March 15, the hospital system has been conducting 200 tests a day, limiting them to the system’s employees and certain patients displaying symptoms of COVID-19. But now that it has more of the needed supplies to conduct the nasal swab tests, it is broadening the effort to more people in the community with symptoms of the disease.

The testing, which is by appointment only, will take place at drive-thru facilities at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey and UChicago’s hospital in Hyde Park. The system also is partnering with South Side community hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and federally qualified health centers.

The expanded testing effort was featured during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daily COVID-19 briefing on Thursday. The governor has set a goal of ramping up testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to 10,000 a day across the state.

Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have noted the high rate of COVID-19 deaths among African Americans in the region.

“The testing programs provided by UChicago Medicine play an instrumental role in our ability to halt the spread of this disease and treat our areas most in need, as well as level the racial inequity that has been tragically prevalent in COVID-19 cases,” Lightfoot said in a prepared statement sent out by the hospital system.

To arrange an appointment, people can call UChicago Medicine at 773-702-2800 or Ingalls Memorial at 708-915-2683. —Hal Dardick

2:59 p.m.: Pritzker says state expanding testing for COVID-19 to include anyone with symptoms

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday that the state is expanding testing for COVID-19 to include anyone with symptoms, even without a doctor’s order.

The expansion in made possible by newly available testing capacity and the ability to acquire the supplies needed to take samples in much larger numbers. The Illinois Department of Public’s three labs are now able to process thousands more tests per day, Pritzker said.

Last week, he said the state so far had fallen far short of his goal of conducting 10,000 tests per day. Pritzker also said that a new drive-through testing facility he first announced last week opened Tuesday in south suburban Markham and took more than 600 specimens in its first day. Three drive-through facilities are now able to take 1,800 samples per day.

The state will be announcing two more drive-through sites in the coming days, Pritzker said. The also is expanding a partnership with federally qualified health centers to make testing more available statewide. —Dan Petrella

2:58 p.m.: ComEd halts late fees and service disconnections until June 1, files for rate decrease in 2021

ComEd announced Thursday it is extending its suspension of service disconnections and waiving late fees until June 1 as the Chicago area continues to hunker down under a stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic.

Residential energy usage is up 10% year-over-year, and ComEd said it will keep the lights on as customers face new financial hardships, including layoffs, furloughs and pay reductions. Read more here. —Robert Channick

2:43 p.m.: Officials report 125 additional deaths to COVID-19, most in single day

Illinois officials announce 125 additional deaths from COVID-19, the most in a single day since the start of the outbreak. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,073.

There were also 1,140 new known coronavirus cases reported, bringing the statewide total to 25,733 known infections.

2:42 p.m.: Lightfoot says Pritzker may have announcement on schools later this week

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she hasn’t discussed keeping schools closed for the rest of the school year with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and would like to talk with him before he announces any decision.


“We have not had that conversation yet with the governor although we are hearing that he might make some kind of announcement later this week,” Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference. “Certainly, we’d love to be in conversation with the governor and his team about that before any announcement happens.”

The comment mirrors a recent controversy between Lightfoot and Pritzker where city officials claimed they were taken off-guard by the governor’s announcement about ramped up testing sites in Chicago. Lightfoot and her public health director, Dr. Allison Arwady, said there was a communication problem while Pritzker’s administration said they kept the city in the loop.

“Obviously there was a problem yesterday, and we’re going to work to rectify that so we can all move on," Lightfoot said. "I think what the public expects, and rightfully so, is that all units of government are communicating with each other and that there’s collaboration because there’s not a minute to waste. We’ll continue to do our part to make sure that happens.” —Gregory Pratt

2:40 p.m.: Have you recovered from COVID-19? A south suburban clinic is offering antibody testing to gauge possible immunity

A south suburban medical practice that had been one of the area’s early providers of drive-up coronavirus testing is now testing patients for COVID-19 antibodies to help identify those who may have developed immunity to the virus.

Family First Medical Group announced the testing Monday and has been booked solid ever since, marketing director Ryan Dawson said.

“We don’t yet know how long immunity lasts, but by gathering information on patients who were already infected, we can start to get a better idea,” he said. “Determining who has some level of immunity through antibody testing could help people feel safer about returning to work.”

As of Wednesday, Family First had tested about 45 people between its Evergreen Park and Mokena offices and plans to continue antibody testing “as long as necessary,” Dawson said. Read more here. —Zak Koeske

2:39 p.m.: RTA expects a nearly $1 billion revenue loss for transit agencies due to coronavirus, with CTA taking the biggest hit

The CTA, Metra and Pace could see almost $1 billion in revenue losses this year, with the CTA taking the biggest hit with a $551 million drop, according to the agency that oversees transit budgets.

The Regional Transportation Authority also estimated a loss of $300 million for Metra and $71.2 million for Pace, due to a shortfall in ticket sales and a decline in the amount of funding the agencies get from the state and from regional sales tax collections.

None of the transit agencies has talked about raising fares in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and CTA spokesman Brian Steele said on Thursday that the the CTA is not planning to take that step.But all three agencies have reported massive ridership losses due to the pandemic and the state’s stay-at-home order, with Metra seeing the biggest fall at 97% projected for the month of April. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski

2:22 p.m.: Cook County launches two websites intended to show disparities in how COVID-19 affects communities

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Thursday that the county has launched two websites aimed at visualizing and addressing disparities in communities most affected by COVID-19.

“As we begin to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, Cook County is using an equity lens, grounded in data, to make sure that our path to recovery is equitable and accessible to all of our residents—regardless of race, zip code, income, or documentation status—because that is our moral responsibility,” Preckwinkle said.

One website is a public map reflecting the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) across different areas of Cook County. The website defines SVI as a term the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses “to describe the vulnerability of a community to human suffering and financial loss in the event of a disaster.”

SVI is determined using U.S. Census Bureau data and considers several measures of social vulnerability, including poverty, lack of access to transportation, and language barriers. Residents can access the map in English and Spanish at https://maps.cookcountyil.gov/svi/.

The other website is a dashboard from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office with up-to-date information on coronavirus-related deaths.“

While this dashboard won’t directly show the impact the pandemic is having on families and communities across the county, it will help residents see the scale of the loss of life and to better understand the way the virus moves across the region,” said Tom Lynch, the chief information officer of Cook County.

The website shows COVID-19 related fatalities by location, time, age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The dashboard is available in English at https://maps.cookcountyil.gov/medexamcovid19/ and will be launched in Spanish next week.

At the press conference, Preckwinkle recalled the 1995 Chicago heat wave—during which over 700 people died, largely in communities of color—as an example of why the county is embracing a data-driven approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We can’t repeat the same mistakes, whether it be the heat wave of 1995, Hurricane Katrina, or a global pandemic. We can’t continue to allow our black and brown communities to be hit the hardest by every single catastrophe,” Preckwinkle said. —Antonia Ayres-Brown

2:12 p.m.: Wrigley Field to house local food pantry

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised Chicago Cubs owners Tom and Laura Ricketts for opening Wrigley Field up to a local food pantry.

Lakeview Pantry reached out to the Cubs to use Wrigley Field, saying they needed more space than they had to help feed the needy. The Cubs responded by opening up the iconic baseball stadium.

"We need people to step up,” Lightfoot said. “We need people to raise their hand and say, ‘Call on me.’”

Lakeview Pantry CEO Kellie O’Connell said demand has gone up by 140% and they need more volunteers and donations, too.

The food will be distributed on Tuesday from 12-2 p.m. at Wrigley Field, O’Connell said. —Gregory Pratt

2:10 p.m.: Remember influenza? Stay-at-home order and other coronavirus precautions seem to have halted a bad flu season and ‘probably saved thousands of lives’

Measures that have kept Chicagoans in their homes in an effort to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic have had another benefit, experts say — stopping a nasty influenza season.

According to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the 2019-20 influenza season, now winding down, was particularly harsh. But hospitalizations and other tracking measurements for influenza sharply decreased as news of the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up.


Experts say last month’s good hygiene messaging, like hand-washing and staying home when sick, combined with social distancing pleas from government officials and the statewide stay-at-home order had a dramatic effect on the spread of flu. Read more here. —Kate Thayer

2 p.m.: United Airlines will get $5 billion to avoid layoffs until the fall. It might only be a reprieve.

United Airlines is in line to get $5 billion in financial assistance from the federal government to keep paying employees as the COVID-19 pandemic devastates passenger air travel. Even with those funds, the road ahead looks dire, executives said in a letter to employees.

The Chicago-based airline has slashed about 90% of its flying capacity in May, and expects to run a similarly bare-bones schedule of flights in June. It carried fewer than 200,000 people during the first two weeks of April — roughly 3% of the more than six million passengers it had during the same period last year.

The situation isn’t getting better. United expects to carry fewer people through the entire month of May than it did during a single day in May 2019.

United has pledged to avoid involuntary furloughs and pay cuts through Sept. 30 — a condition of accepting the federal funds — though many employees will be working fewer hours. Executives warned employees the reprieve may not last. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach

1:26 p.m.: ‘Prime picking for fraudsters’: Scammers are eyeing your $1,200 federal stimulus check

The IRS is bracing for another epidemic — scammers trying to get their hands on the $1,200 payments being sent out to millions of Americans to bolster the economy.

The payments, plus an additional $500 for each child, have begun hitting bank accounts this week, opening a wide avenue of opportunities for scams, identity theft and low-tech crimes such as stealing checks from mailboxes.

The IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the agency’s watchdog, have already issued several warnings that scammers are posing as the IRS to try to get personal information from payment recipients that they can then use to steal the money. The inspector general is asking people to report any suspicious activity. Read more here. —Bloomberg News

1:25 p.m.: Pritzker joins leaders of 6 surrounding states to work out plan for reopening economy

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office on Thursday announced that Illinois will work in concert with governors of six other surrounding states on reopening state economies and lifting stay-at-home restrictions in place to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

“Today, we are announcing that Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Kentucky will work in close coordination to reopen our economies in a way that prioritizes our workers’ health,” the governors of those states said in a statement. “We look forward to working with experts and taking a fact-based, data-driven approach to reopening our economy in a way that protect families from the spread of COVID-19.

“Our number one priority when analyzing when best to reopen our economy is the health and safety of our citizens. We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education.”

The governors will consider health care capacity to handle resurgence of the new coronavirus, enhanced ability to test and trace and “sustained control of the rate of new infections and hospitalizations,” as well as best practices for social distancing in workplaces, in making decisions to reopen state economies and lift restrictions.

“Here in the Midwest, we are bound by our commitment to our people and the community,” the statement said. “We recognize that our economies are all reliant on each other, and we must work together to safely reopen them so hardworking people can get back to work and businesses can get back on their feet.”

Pritzker said earlier this week he was having conversations with fellow governors about a coordinated reopening. Read more here. Read more here. —Jamie Munks

1:23 p.m.: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers extends stay-at-home order another month

Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday extended Wisconsin's stay-at-home order for another month, keeping nonessential businesses closed until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Schools will be closed the remainder of the academic year under the safer-at-home order that will be in effect until May 26. Golf courses will be allowed to re-open, but club houses and pro shops will remain closed.

News of the extension comes amid growing criticism from conservatives who are pushing Evers and some other governors to loosen restrictions. Opponents of the order planned a rally at the state Capitol on April 24, the end date of the original order. Read more here. —Associated Press

1:01 p.m.: R. Kelly renews motion for release from federal jail in Chicago

Indicted singer R. Kelly on Thursday renewed a motion for release from federal jail in Chicago while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges, citing new information that as many as six inmates and seven staff members at the Metropolitan Correctional Center have tested positive for COVID-19.

The motion, filed before the federal judge overseeing Kelly’s racketeering case in New York, alleges there are likely far more cases of coronavirus than are being reported since the jail has only tested detainees who have exhibited symptoms even though the virus has a lengthy incubation period and many people who contract it remain asymptomatic.

The motion alleged the news that the virus has hit the jail has increased the stress level throughout the inmate population, including Kelly, who has been held there without bond since his arrest last July.

“Inmates are reportedly banging on doors, walls, and windows begging for help,” Kelly’s attorney, Michael Leonard, stated in the motion. “The only thing the MCC has done is lock things down, making the situation feel more like solitary confinement and possibly, because of the nature of this virus, locking in healthy inmates with those who may already have the virus but who may not yet be symptomatic.”

A status hearing in the case is scheduled to be held by telephone Thursday afternoon in front of U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn. Read more here. —Jason Meisner


12:58 p.m.: Charity employs Chicago restaurants to feed frontline health care workers, aiming for 10,000 meals per week

A new partnership in Chicago is paying restaurants and its furloughed workers to prepare hundreds of meals to feed health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus battle.

Off Their Plate, a grassroots movement that originated in Boston in mid-March, landed in Chicago 12 days ago and, in partnership with such restaurants as Seoul Taco and the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, has delivered hundreds of meals to Chicago hospital workers.

“Right now, it looks like we’ll have served more than 1,000 meals by Friday,” said Adam Smith, Chicago city lead for Off Their Plate. “We’re hoping we can double it by next week, and maybe even surpass that. We’ve raised $2.2 million overall, and a lot is going in the pipeline for Chicago-specific funding. Chicago is taking off better than anticipated.”

The organization, created by founder Natalie Guo, is funded by private donations and grants, and partners with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen as fiscal sponsor; tax-deductible donations for Off Their Plate go through the World Central Kitchen site here. Read more. —Phil Vettel

12:10 p.m.: U of I sets up a coronavirus emergency fund for affected students’ tuition and housing

The University of Illinois System is dedicating $36 million to help offset the costs of housing and tuition for students adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, President Tim Killeen announced Thursday.

The Students FIRST: COVID-19 Emergency Fund draws on money from private donors, university reserves and $31.5 million that the three campuses received as part of a federal stimulus bill, according to Killeen. The funds will be available to both graduate and undergraduate students needing financial aid for the next academic year.

“The pandemic has disrupted college savings plans that were years in the making and created financial hardships no one could have foreseen,” Killeen said in a news release. “We want to make sure it doesn’t deny students access to the education that will transform their lives and supply the next-generation workforce that is so critical to the future of our state and nation.”

The university system considered waiving its tuition increase for next year – the first planned hike in six years – but determined that dispensing additional financial aid would help reach more students and could help with broader challenges, Killeen said.

“Financial aid for students from Illinois will be a priority, including a guarantee to cover next year’s tuition increase for every new in-state undergraduate student,” the news release said.

Only freshman and transfer students would have been subject to tuition increases for in-state students in the 2020-21 school year, which will be a 1.8% increase at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses and 1% at the Springfield campus. —Elyssa Cherney

10:57 a.m.: Cook County Jail inmates begin refusing food over COVID-19, sheriff forwards their petition for better treatment to judge

Cook County Jail detainees worried their tiers will be overtaken by COVID-19 have started refusing regular food and demanding better conditions, the Tribune has learned, a development sheriff’s officials are downplaying.

Inmates told the newspaper they are staging what they describe as hunger strikes over their continued detention as the coronavirus spreads inside one of the nation’s largest jails.

Inmates on three tiers in Division 11, and one tier in Division 10, have intermittently refused their food trays for a couple of days at a time in recent weeks, a statement from the sheriff’s office confirmed.

But it would be “reckless and inaccurate” to describe that as a hunger strike, sheriff’s officials said, noting that the detainees were eating food from the commissary instead and jail procedures define “hunger strike" as abstaining from food altogether.

Still, the sheriff’s officials confirmed they have forwarded a petition from the inmates, who requested their demands be reviewed by a judge. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau

10:55 a.m.: Sens. Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth named to congressional task force to advise Trump on reopening economy

Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, two of Washington’s most vociferous critics of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, have been named to a congressional task force to advise Trump on his push to reopen the nation’s economy.

Durbin, the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he was “honored” to be asked to serve on the bipartisan task force.

“We still have work to do to stop the spread of this virus, but we need to think in positive terms of the day America once again will be open for business,” Durbin said in a short statement devoid of any criticism of the Republican president.

But Duckworth, in accepting the invitation from Trump, didn’t mute her attacks on the president.

“For the sake of the nearly 25,000 Americans who have already lost their lives to COVID-19—and the countless more that will succumb in the weeks and months ahead—I wish Donald Trump had been as eager to prepare our country for this pandemic as he is to rush towards normalcy when his own experts are warning ‘We’re not there yet,’” she said in a statement. Read more here. —Rick Pearson

10:42 a.m.: $349 billion federal small-business aid fund runs dry; some in Chicago area were lucky but others are left in the lurch

The federal government’s $349 billion program to help small businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic has run dry, leaving thousands of small business owners whose applications are pending to wait on Congress to replenish the funds.

The Small Business Administration said Thursday it is unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, passed by Congress as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.

The SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals if the paycheck program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, another heavily-tapped funding resource for small businesses, experience a “lapse in appropriations,” officials warned. Read more here. —Robert Channick

10:30 a.m.: Chicago-area mail carriers navigate coronavirus challenges: Customers eager to chat, the pain of postage-due notices and Postal Service’s financial collapse.

There have been 20 or so confirmed coronavirus cases among the 3,500 active mail carriers in the Chicago district but no reported deaths, local union officials said. At least four mail carriers in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, according the National Association of Letter Carriers.


A spokesman for U.S. Postal Service’s Chicago district declined to comment on the number of confirmed cases involving its employees.

In addition to the day-to-day safety concerns, there are broader financial ones.

The volume of marketing mail and first-class letters has dwindled nationwide during the pandemic, plunging the already troubled Postal Service into deeper difficulties. The mail service, which employs about 600,000 workers, has said it needs emergency funding, but President Donald Trump opposes a bailout.

The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package earmarks no money for the Postal Service, though the measure does include a so-far-unfulfilled $10 billion loan to the agency. The president repeatedly has suggested the agency’s survival depends upon charging Amazon and other internet retailers more to deliver packages. Read more here. —Stacy St. Clair

10:29 a.m.: Chicago Park District pushes back summer camp sign-up

The Chicago Park District still plans to go ahead with summer camps and other programs — or at least with the annual high stakes ritual of letting families fight for limited seats — but the date has been pushed back.

Online sign-up for summer camps and other classes was set to take place starting Monday, when in normal years parents all over the city would sit with their fingers poised over their computer keyboards in the hopes of getting their kids in before the programs filled up almost immediately.

Instead, the sign-up will start May 11 and continue May 12, according to Park District spokeswoman Michele Lemons. In-person sign-up “will be held once deemed safe by the Governor and the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” Lemons said in a statement.

It remains to be seen whether Chicagoans still clamor to fill up the camps, given the possibility of contracting the coronavirus from close contact and the possibility the Park District will end up canceling summer programming anyway.

“Currently, summer day camp will start as scheduled on June 22nd and end July 31st,” Lemons said. “All other summer programs will begin June 15th and end August 17th. The Chicago Park District will contact registered participants and provide updated information via direct email, social media and on the District website should any changes in the summer registration or program dates occur.” Read more here. —John Byrne

9:26 a.m.: Business owners bleeding money during the coronavirus shutdown gear up for a fight with insurers who’ve denied their claims

Erik Baylis’ eight Chicago bars and restaurants have been closed since Illinois barred in-person dining starting on St. Patrick’s Day, smack in the middle of what he says is typically the most lucrative month of the year.

Baylis, who furloughed his 450-plus employees, assumed an insurance policy would cover some of his losses during the coronavirus shutdown, which is causing him to miss out on $5 million to $6 million in revenue each month.

He was shocked when he received a letter from his insurance company saying it would not.

“Reading that was probably my lowest point of this experience,” said Baylis, whose Big Onion Hospitality group owns Fatpour Tap Works, Hopsmith Tavern and The Irish Oak, among other establishments.

“That’s why you insure, to prepare for the unknown,” he said. “All of a sudden to be told that they’re not going to pay out is immoral, unethical.”

Baylis is among a growing contingent of business owners across the country who are suing insurance companies for denying claims for business interruption insurance as revenues take a nosedive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the money, some say they may not be able to reopen or hire back laid-off employees. Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

8 a.m.: A Chicago Montessori school reopens as emergency child care center for essential workers

Things have changed at South Loop Montessori School since it has recently reopened.

Now there’s regular temperature-taking, and indoor-only shoes. Parents can’t go inside. The staff has to use masks and gloves when they commute. And there are a lot fewer children around.

South Loop Montessori has reopened as an emergency day care center for the children of essential workers. Here’s a look inside. —Elyssa Cherney

7:05 a.m.: 23 coronavirus-related deaths reported at Symphony of Joliet nursing home

Twenty-two residents and one staff member at Symphony of Joliet nursing home have died of COVID-19, according to a spokeswoman for the facility.

The number of deaths at Symphony has risen sharply since early last week, when it reported a total of three deaths, including the staff member.

Nursing homes nationwide have become epicenters and “accelerators” of the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more here. —Robert McCoppin

6:35 a.m.: ACLU voices concern about checkpoints being set up by Chicago police across the city

Chicago police are setting up checkpoints throughout the city both to remind people about the statewide stay-at-home order during the coronavirus outbreak and to “show a strong police presence” in areas hit by violence.

But the American Civil Liberties Union said it is worried that they will unnecessarily expose both officers and the public to the virus, and could be used “as a cover for race-based enforcement schemes or other heavy-handed police tactics."

“We will monitor all policing tactics during this time to assure that they are constitutional and align with public health requirements,” the ACLU said in a statement. Read more here. —Pete Nickeas

6 a.m.: Coronavirus crisis is increasing the dangers those with drug addiction face. ‘This is a deeply vulnerable population.’

For people who are addicted to illegal drugs, particularly heroin and other opioids, the purchase and sale of drugs is an essential business, even as much of the country has shut down due to the spread of COVID-19. In Illinois, there are more than 24,500 known cases and at least 948 deaths.


Doctors, advocates and harm reduction workers are gearing up to battle the new coronavirus on multiple fronts in regards to those struggling with addiction, a vulnerable community they fear will face a disproportionate impact. Those who do harm reduction work, such as passing out clean syringes, see drug use as an inevitable and complex part of society that must be met with compassion.

Drug users in some areas are reporting an increase in products that are diluted with other substances, a possible sign that the decrease in commerce and travel has impacted the drug supply. Disruptions in the drug supply could result in dangerous involuntary withdrawal or use of more lethal substances, which would strain an already-overstretched medical system battling the virus, experts said.

And difficulty in maintaining social distancing measures raises risks of outbreaks among communities that also face poverty, poor access to health care and unstable living situations. Read more here. —Madeline Buckley

6 a.m.: Lightfoot’s stay home memes highlighted on the Daily Show: ‘Humor is kind of the unifying thing’

During an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show on Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot talked about Chicago’s response to the coronavirus crisis and discussed the popular memes depicting her as a one-woman tracker of stay-at-home order scofflaws.

Daily Show host Trevor Noah praised the popular “Where’s Lightfoot?” memes depicting Chicago’s mayor enforcing stay-at-home orders. Noah also singled out a recent tweet by self-proclaimed “Auntie” Lightfoot that declared: “Your jump shot is always going to be weak. Stay out of the parks” as a personal favorite.

“Humor is kind of the unifying thing, right?” Lightfoot said.

The mayor said that the memes started spreading after she shut down the lakefront. The memes give people hope while spreading the message of social distancing at a time when people would normally be involved with sports and music, she said.

“I think it is important for the mayor not to just be seen behind the TV screen but to be out in the community, safely, of course," Lightfoot said. "But to be present.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt

5 a.m.: The military won’t say how many coronavirus cases are on the Naval Station Great Lakes base

Next week, about 500 new recruits are expected to report to Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago, the first to arrive since the Navy stopped sending future sailors late last month as the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world.

But a significant question remains unanswered as the recruits are about to arrive in the north suburbs: How many people on the base have had COVID-19?. Military officials won’t say, citing security reasons.

That secrecy leaves the public guessing about the disease’s impact at a busy military hub that employs some 25,000 people, houses about 15,000 and is roughly five times the size of Grant Park. Read more here. —Dan Hinkel

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