Neighborhood News

Published April 17, 2020 By Justin Kerr

Health care data released by the office of the Cook County Medical Examiner has provided a snapshot of deaths of local residents attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to information available to the examiner. Showing no incidents of COVID-19-related deaths in the McKinley Park neighborhood of Chicago, the Medical Examiner's Case Archive offers a to-the-street-address accounting of the records of COVID-19 deaths it has available.

Although this county data shows no COVID-19 deaths in the McKinley Park neighborhood, or in the adjacent Central Manufacturing District, a pandemic outbreak and related death has been reported in a City of Chicago office and storage building on Pershing Road, as reported in an expose by CBS 2 Chicago news.

The medical examiner website states that "data may differ because agencies report at different times and are also notified of COVID-19 positive results at different times by hospitals and healthcare facilities."

Live Virus Tracker by Neighborhood

The South Side Weekly, which uses Cook County Medical Examiner data to publish a live tracker of COVID-19 deaths by Chicago Community Area, noted that locations for COVID-19 deaths reflect the examiner's determination of where the person became sick. Most of the time, this is the residence of the stricken person, the publication stated.

In addition to the McKinley Park and adjacent Bridgeport community areas not showing COVID-19 deaths, eight other Chicago neighborhoods also show no COVID-19 deaths, according to the South Side Weekly tracker.

Alongside detailed reports in the medical examiner's case archives, the Medical Examiner COVID-19 Dashboard offers local COVID-19 death data over time and according to demographics. The office "encourages visitors to use this data to explore trends, identify areas of concern and take appropriate action," the medical examiner website stated. Data in the dashboard is updated twice each day, at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

"The data can be utilized to identify communities that are most severely impacted by the virus and can inform proactive public policy," the medical examiner website said.

How to View the Map

The dynamic map of Cook County COVID-19 deaths is available via a data visualization of Cook County Medical Examiner Case Archive data. After opening this link, click the globe/map icon above the box titled "Select data or a chart type ..." and then zoom into the displayed dynamic map to recorded COVID-19 death locations.

A screen capture of the Cook County Medical Examiner COVID-19 Dashboard from Friday, April 17, illustrates how COVID-19-related death information is shared with the public.