Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday announced 73 more deaths due to the new coronavirus, the state’s largest number in a single day since the outbreak began. Officials also reported 1,287 new known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, bringing the statewide total 13,549 known cases, including 380 deaths.

The news comes as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Tuesday that Pritzker’s stay-at-home order currently is in place for the month of April is “a long way away” from being phased out in Chicago. Meanwhile, the governor said a “solution isn’t coming tomorrow, or next week or next month.”


Here are the latest updates Tuesday on the new coronavirus in the Chicago area and Illinois:


9:47: First Chicago firefighter dies of coronavirus, officials say

The first Chicago firefighter has died from the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday night.

Mario Araujo, 49, worked in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford wrote on Twitter that Araujo joined the department in October 2003 and spent most of his career at Truck 25.

Fire Department Commissioner Richard Ford released a statement saying the “tragic loss underscores the seriousness that we face as a city and a nation.” Read more here. — John Byrne

8:36 p.m.: John Prine dies at 73 of coronavirus complications

After decades of health troubles and being stricken with COVID-19, revered singer-songwriter John Prine died Tuesday in a Nashville hospital after being on a ventilator for more than a week. Prine, who grew up in Maywood, was 73. Read more here. —Steve Johnson

7:37 p.m.: Lightfoot on high rate of African Americans dying from coronavirus: ‘As a black woman . . . that’s a hard thing to come to terms with.’

Mayor Lori Lightfoot reiterated her shock on Tuesday regarding data that shows African Americans in Chicago are dying from the new coronavirus at 6 times the rate of white residents.

Lightfoot appeared on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon with host Nicolle Wallace. During her appearance, Lightfoot noted the data she released at a news conference was “shocking” to her.

“Look, these number are absolutely shocking," Lightfoot said. "When I saw them for the first time, it was really hard for me to take them in. As a black woman, seeing that African Americans in my city are dying 7 times the rate of everyone else, that’s a hard thing to come to terms with.”

About 68% of the city’s deaths attributed to COVID-19 have involved African Americans, who make up only about 30% of Chicago’s total population, according to an examination of data from the Cook County medical examiner’s office and the Chicago Department of Public Health. The statistics suggest black Chicagoans are dying at a rate nearly six times greater than white residents. Read more here. —Lisa Donovan

7:04 p.m.: Everyone is having groceries delivered during the pandemic, but food stamp recipients still must go out to shop. Illinois is trying to change that.

David Hensel, a single father of six and a food stamp recipient, has cut back on the number of trips he makes to the grocery store each week. He also wears gloves and a mask each time he goes.

Still, he worries.

“Every time you walk out of your house and go somewhere, the potential of bringing it back is there again," said Hensel, 57, of West Rogers Park.


Being able to order groceries online and have them delivered would mean he could avoid that risk, he said. But that’s not an option.

Online grocery delivery has become vital for many in Illinois who are trying to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. But food stamp recipients — who advocates say are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 — can’t shop that way.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, has long required customers using those benefits to pay for purchases at the time and place of sale. Read more here. —Ally Marotti

6:45 p.m.: Search for COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code

Newly released COVID-19 data from the state shows the number of positive cases by ZIP code, with large numbers seen in parts of Chicago and cases growing in the suburbs. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with fewer than five cases. Search by street address, ZIP code or city here.

6:33 p.m.: Politicians, health officials discuss racial disparities of COVID-19 crisis during virtual town hall

Illinois politicians and health officials expressed concern Tuesday about racial disparities in COVID-19 fatality rates during a virtual town hall about the pandemic’s impact on black communities.

“With decades worth of poor access to healthcare and living in food deserts, it’s not hard to see why this virus is impacting us more than any other group of people,” Democratic state Rep. Sonya Harper of Chicago said.

The Tribune reported Monday that while African Americans only comprise around 30% of Chicago’s population, they have made up over 52% of the city’s confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 68% of its deaths. Several officials at the video town hall pointed to underlying conditions—such as heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes—as reasons for the coronavirus’s higher toll in black communities.

“All of these conditions--which are already too prevalent in our African American community--is the reason why, when you overlay COVID on our communities, we’re seeing these horrific statistics,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Chicago Ald. Sophia King, 4th, called the COVID-19 pandemic “similar to (Hurricane) Katrina” in how it has revealed systemic racial disparities.


“I think that’s our job now as elected officials, is to really, you know, make sure that this is very transparent, that we understand where the disparity is, and attack it disproportionately with resources,” King aid.


Candace Moore, the chief equity officer for the city of Chicago, said the city has discussed utilizing more radio messaging, as well as tapping into word-of-mouth networks, to reach African American communities during the current public health crisis.

“The city has been advertising all of our efforts really wide. And so I think this is a moment to get really targeted,” she said. —Antonia Ayres-Brown

6:11 p.m.: More than 100 CPD officers have now tested positive for COVID-19

More than 100 Chicago police officers have now tested positive for COVID-19, according to figures released Tuesday.

A total of 108 officers and four civilian CPD employees have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since mid-March, the department said.

Tuesday’s total is an increase of 16 officers and one civilian employee more than the department’s tally as of Monday.

One officer, 50-year-old Marco DiFranco, died last week of the disease. Interim Chicago police Superintendent Charlie Beck has taken the unusual step of declaring DiFranco’s death as being in the line of duty, entitling his family to special financial benefits.

On Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago police have dispersed gatherings more than 1,500 times in the last week to enforce social distancing and a stay-at-home order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker. CPD has also issued 11 citations and made three arrests for alleged violators of the order, Lightfoot said. —Jeremy Gorner

6:09 p.m.: Skokie reports largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases within Cook County suburbs

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the suburbs continued to climb over the last week, more than doubling in some communities, health department data shows.

Out of all the cases reported by the Cook County Health Department and the cases reported by the Skokie, Evanston, Oak Park and Stickney Township health departments, Skokie had the highest number of confirmed cases as of Tuesday: 168. Glenview had 131 cases and Evanston had 128, also among the highest.

Skokie has the most reported cases of COVID-19 within Cook County suburbs, according to the data. Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson

6:04 p.m.: Another spring ritual delayed because of the coronavirus: Chicago’s bridge lifts

Every spring, the city raises its steel bridges along the Chicago River to allow sailboats to pass from winter storage out onto Lake Michigan.

The bridge-lifting ritual, which typically runs twice-weekly from mid-April to June and again from September to November when boats go back into storage yards, is an occasion for sightseers to take photographs, and for drivers to grumble when they get stuck waiting for bridges to close.

But this year, the lakefront is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. So boat yard operators say they won’t be asking the Chicago Department of Transportation to open bridges until restrictions are lifted, possibly in May.

“The lakefront is closed, as long as the lakefront is closed, the harbors are closed and there are no boats in the harbors,” said Scott Stevenson of Westrec Marinas, which manages the harbors for the Chicago Park District and operates a couple of Chicago boat yards. Read more here. —Mary Wisniewski

5:48 p.m.: Community hospital says nurses being hired away to work at McCormick Place

In any given week, at least 10 percent of the nursing staff at Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park is supplied by staffing agencies, said hospital CEO Jose Sanchez. But this week, those extra nurses are nowhere in sight.

The labor pool had gotten a better offer, Sanchez said: well-paying jobs at the temporary field hospital being set up at McCormick Place to handle the expected COVID-19 surge. The competition is making it harder for struggling community hospitals to find enough supplemental staff to run properly, he said.

“As you probably know, nurses have always been in a shortage,” he said. This week, “my chief nursing officer came to me and said, ‘I don’t have enough nurses — to supplement our nurses — to take care of our patients.’ She’s calling. No one is responding. That’s a problem.”

This is an especially bad time for a staffing shortage at the 200-bed hospital that serves a mostly poor and working class population on the West Side.

Norwegian American currently has 19 COVID-19 patients, at least eight of whom are in the small 12-bed intensive care unit. Another 19 patients are awaiting COVID-19 test results.

Sanchez said his biggest worry is not bed capacity but personnel.

“It’s getting much more dangerous working in a setting like this for our nurses and our doctors. They are in the fire,” he said. “One of the most difficult tasks as a CEO of a hospital is managing the staff. Staff are in a panic. They are afraid. They are exhausted. … The most difficult task is how do you keep up the morale and protect the people who are working on the front line. I feel for them, I feel for their families. Many are totally concerned about bringing this home.”

Several staff members have tested positive and are in quarantine, he said.

At the same time, Sanchez said, nurses are being lured away with promises of $120 to $130 an hour to work at McCormick Place, which is double what Norwegian can pay.

“I really applaud the governor and the mayor for creating more capacity,” he said, “But there are unintended consequences of opening those beds.” —David Heinzmann

5:18 p.m.: Chicago fights temptation as temperatures flirt with 80 and no end in sight for stay-at-home order

The forecast said it could hail Tuesday, maybe as big as golf balls, but that wasn’t the hazard on people’s mind as temperatures flirted with 80, just a few degrees shy of breaking a 127-year-old record.

“Chicago, I know it’s gorgeous outside but please behave,” one tweet pleaded.

“It’s beautiful outside,” someone else tweeted before echoing an infamous bedtime story by actor Samuel L. Jackson. “STAY THE (expletive) HOME CHICAGO.”

Many appeared to be following the advice as Illinois experienced its largest single-day tally of deaths — 73 — attributed to the coronavirus. The Lakefront Trail in Lincoln Park was mostly deserted in the middle of the afternoon as patrols of Chicago police enforced social distancing guidelines and the statewide stay-at-home order. Read more here. —Sophie Sherry and Gregory Pratt

5:01 p.m.: 8th death reported among Willowbrook nursing home residents

Four new deaths and 66 new known cases of coronavirus were reported Tuesday in DuPage County, officials said, including two more deaths of residents of long-term care facilities.

That makes 780 cases of COVID-19 in all with 26 deaths in the county – 16 of which have been connected to long-term care facilities.


There have been 51 cases and eights deaths involving residents of Chateau Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook -- including one reported Tuesday -- and 31 cases and eight deaths at eight other long-term facilities, the DuPage County Health Department reported. —Robert McCoppin

4:46 p.m.: Pritzker says state has released more than 1,100 prisoners from the Illinois Department of Corrections

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced at his daily COVID-19 briefing that the state has released more than 1,100 prisoners from the Illinois Department of Corrections as the system tries to stem the spread of the disease among the state’s incarcerated.

Additionally, Pritzker said 60 young people had been released from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

State officials including Pritzker have said work is progressing as quickly as possible to move inmates at high risk of contracting a serious case of the disease out of harm’s way. Those inmates include non-violent offenders who are not believed to be a flight risk, officials have said, and inmates being released early are being screened for symptoms before exiting the system.

The announcement comes less than a week after a consortium of civil rights attorneys filed three lawsuits seeking the release of thousands of inmates from the prison system.

Concerns over how quickly the state was moving to release prisoners were raised weeks ago by advocates and family members. Late last week, the civil rights attorneys filed against Pritzker and IDOC officials, saying as many as 13,000 inmates could be eligible for release, including many who were convicted of non-violent offenses, are elderly, at elevated risk to get ill, of have already served most of their sentences.

Pritzker said the releases announced today came by “direct action” by him or under the regular release programs available.

“We’re doing everything that we can to protect those individuals who remain incarcerated in these facilities,” Pritzker added.

More than 100 inmates and 41 staff members have tested positive for coronavirus as of this week, according to IDOC. At least one inmate, a man housed at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, has died so far in the state system. —Annie Sweeney and Dan Petrella

3:49 p.m.: Cook County launches $10 million loan fund to help small businesses, gig workers

Cook County unveiled a $10 million Community Recovery Fund Tuesday that will offer no-interest loans to suburban small businesses, gig workers, and independent contractors whose livelihoods have been battered by the new coronavirus.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the program, which will provide one-time, five-year loans of up to $20,000 for small businesses and up to $10,000 for independent contractors.

To be eligible, small businesses must have less than $3 million in annual revenue and fewer than 25 workers. Independent contractors like hair stylists, nail technicians, service repair workers, and freelance writers must have less than $100,000 in gross annual income and earn at least half of their income from contract work. Small business, gig workers and contractors must have locations or reside outside of Chicago in Cook County to be considered for those loans.

Interested companies that want to be notified when applications are open should fill out a form on Cook County’s website. The funds will begin accepting applications on a first-come, first-serve basis later this month. Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez

3:21 p.m.: Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright groups seek donations as virus shuts down tours

Two of Chicago’s prominent architecture organizations, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust and the Chicago Architecture Center, are appealing for donations as the new coronavirus crisis wipes out a key part of their revenue stream at the start of the busy spring tour season.

The Wright Trust on Tuesday sent out an email appeal for funds, saying it is one of many nonprofits nationwide that are “in a precarious position that threatens their survival.”

The group, which has been forced to close tours at sites including Wright’s Home & Studio in Oak Park and the architect’s Robie House in Chicago, announced in an email it is launching a campaign to raise $500,000.

“With very limited capacity to meet payrolls and essential property expenses now and in the months ahead, we are working to raise the immediate funds needed to sustain us through this crisis,” the email said. Read more here. —Blair Kamin

2:57 p.m.: Pritzker, Ezike say they have not been tested

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said they have not been tested for COVID-19 because they haven’t exhibited symptoms.

Pritzker said he did not have “regular, close contact” with a staffer who became ill.

2:45 p.m.: 4 firefighters, 3 police officers and a paramedic in Melrose Park test positive for coronavirus

Four Melrose Park firefighters, three police officers and a paramedic have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a village spokesman.

Two of the firefighters went through a 15-day quarantine period and are back at work, said Andrew Mack, a spokesman for the town. The three police officers, the paramedic and two firefighters are still self-quarantining, he said.

The village has 72 police officers, 56 firefighters and 12 contract paramedics, Mack said. —Peter Nickeas

2:35 p.m.: Officials announce 73 more deaths and 1,287 new known cases

The number of known cases of the new coronavirus in Illinois topped 13,000 on Tuesday as state officials announced 1,287 additional diagnoses and 73 more deaths — the largest number in a single day, bringing the death toll to 380.

With COVID-19 now detected in 77 of the state’s 102 counties, there have been 13, 549 total known cases since the outbreak began in late January.

2:33 p.m.: Member of Pritzker’s staff tested positive

A member of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the governor said Tuesday. The employee started to feel unwell on March 26 and immediately went home, Pritzker said. The staffer is feeling better, and no one else in the office has showed symptoms. Read more here. —Dan Petrella

1:44 p.m.: Testing backlog leads to processing delays at drive-up sites run by HHS

A series of drive-up sites intended to expedite coronavirus testing for Chicago-area first responders and health care professionals have lagged in providing results to those tested, health officials said.

The sites, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with big box retailers, opened March 22 to long lines of frontline workers desperate to be tested.


HHS officials said at the time it was critical to prioritize testing for first responders and health care professionals “because they need to know their status as soon as possible in order to prevent infecting individuals in their care.”

But many of the frontline workers who sought testing at the sites in Northlake, Joliet and Bolingbrook have reported waiting well beyond the five days they were told it would take to get results. Read more here. —Zak Koeske

1 p.m.: Judge in New York says R. Kelly must stay behind bars despite coronavirus threat

The threat of COVID-19 behind bars is not enough to release R. Kelly from federal custody to await trial, a New York federal judge ruled Tuesday.

“While I am sympathetic to the defendant’s understandable anxiety about COVID-19, he has not established compelling reasons warranting his release,” District Judge Ann M. Donnelly wrote.

Donnelly noted that there are no confirmed infections at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, where Kelly has been held since July.

And there is a real danger that he will try to tamper with witnesses, Donnelly wrote.

“The defendant is currently in custody because of the risks that he will flee or attempt to obstruct, threaten or intimidate prospective witnesses. The defendant has not explained how those risks have changed,” her ruling states.

Kelly faces wide-ranging federal charges in both Chicago and New York. His attorneys have also filed petitions for his release in front of Judge Harry Leinenweber in Chicago’s federal courthouse. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau and Jason Meisner

12:36 p.m.: Illinois’ stay-at-home order ‘a long way away’ from being phased out in the city, Lightfoot says

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order currently is in place for the month of April, but it is “a long way away” from being phased out in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Tuesday.

Lightfoot held a news conference to announce an executive order that she said will ensure Chicago immigrants living in the country without legal permission receive all city benefits and was asked how the city will determine when the stay-at-home order can be phased out.

Pritzker issued the order last month and extended it through the end of April. Asked how the city will determine when the stay-at-home order can be phased out, Lightfoot said, “We’re a long way away from that.”

“We’ve been talking all along about a peak in the number of cases and then thinking about what the downward slide of that will be,” Lightfoot said. “We are looking at when we think now we will reach that point.” Read more here. —Gregory Pratt

12:30 p.m.: Protesters drive around Cook County Jail calling for mass release of detainees

Dozens of cars drove in slow circles around Cook County Jail for more than an hour Tuesday in a “solidarity caravan” to call for the mass release of county detainees as COVID-19 continues to spread behind bars.

“Release them b4 corona takes them,” read one sign attached to the side of a car. “Detention = Death,” said another. “Infection is murder.”

Longtime activist Mark Clements, from his passenger seat, shouted a slogan with a Biblical bent: “Let my people go!”

The virus calls for extraordinary measures, said Rev. Jason Lydon, who stood in the parkway on California Boulevard and raised his fist in solidarity with the passing cars.

“We’re in an unprecedented crisis and we need unprecedented actions,” he shouted as car horns blared nearby. “Emptying the jails is a beautiful part of that.”

The protest was designed to keep all its participants in cars “socially distant” from each other, as is recommended to stop the virus’ spread.

More than 200 detainees have tested positive for coronavirus so far. On Sunday night, one of them died at Stroger Hospital. “RIP Jeffery Pendleton,” read the sign on one car. –Megan Crepeau

12:15 p.m.: Lightfoot responds to Trump comment that she’s ‘happy’ with feds: ‘I’m not going to take the bait’

Responding to President Donald Trump’s comment that she’s privately happy with the federal government, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday acknowledged telling Vice President Michael Pence that the Army Corps of Engineers did good work turning McCormick Place into an alternative care facility but denied being “one way publicly and another way privately with the administration.”

At a press briefing on Monday, Trump said, “The mayor of Chicago, at least on the phone, is extremely happy with what we’re doing — thanking us. I just wish the politicians would say to you what they say to us.”

Lightfoot on Tuesday responded with her perspective.

“The president says a lot of things and oftentimes it’s an attempt to bait people, and I’m not going to take the bait,” Lightfoot said when asked about the comment. “I’m not one way publicly and a different way privately with the administration.”

Lightfoot said she spoke with Pence over the weekend and asked for more ventilators. Last night, the city’s public health department received 125, “but that’s a fraction of what we had requested,” Lightfoot said. Read more here. — Gregory Pratt

11:11 a.m.: Suburban coroners, funeral directors brace for jump in COVID-19 deaths with mobile morgues and delayed burials

Surrounded by blue temporary fencing, a white, unmarked refrigerated semi-trailer sits quietly in the back of the DuPage County coroner’s office, waiting for what suburban coroners predict will be a sharp uptick in COVID-19 deaths in the coming days and weeks.

Coroners in Kane County and Lake County have brought in similar refrigerated vehicles, sometimes called mobile morgues, for the first time. Cook County’s medical examiner has secured a refrigerated warehouse that can store at least 1,000 bodies.

The ominous preparations come as coroners and funeral home directors across the suburbs brace for what could be a surge in bodies with not enough space to store them all, especially as some families delay burying loved ones until it is safe for large groups to gather again. Read more here. –Erin Hagerty, Megan Jones

11:01 a.m.: Lightfoot signs order ensuring city benefits for immigrants living in U.S. without legal permission

Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order on Tuesday that she said will ensure Chicago immigrants living in the country without legal permission receive all city benefits, opportunities and services, though the rule essentially reiterates existing law.

The city’s “Welcoming City” ordinance passed under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel already prohibits benefits, opportunities or services from being conditional depending on a candidate’s citizenship.


Lightfoot noted her order ensures immigrants also have the opportunity to apply for one-time $1,000 grants to help residents who have suffered financially due to the coronavirus outbreak with rent and mortgage payments, online learning resources for students, and money from the city’s Small Business Resiliency Fund.

“Our city is a city of immigrants, built by immigrants, enriched by immigrants, and we will always stand with our immigrant communities, no matter what,” Lightfoot said.

Shortly after taking office last summer, Lightfoot ordered the Chicago Police Department to deny ICE access to all department databases related to federal civil immigration enforcement amid concerns of large-scale immigration arrests.

As mayor, Lightfoot has made a point of supporting immigrant communities, personally handing out “know your rights” flyers over the summer when President Donald Trump first announced large-scale ICE raids. But she’s also faced criticism from activists who want her to do more, including a rewrite of the city’s “Welcoming City" ordinance to eliminate certain loopholes. Read more here. –Gregory Pratt

11 a.m.: Positive COVID-19 test for youth at juvenile detention center sparks alarm among lawyers and advocates

Attorneys were expected to seek more hearings this week on behalf of youths housed in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in the wake of the troubling news that the first young person in custody there had tested positive for COVID-19.

“We continuously said it was not a matter of if, it is a matter of when,” said Cathryn Crawford, the litigation director for the Lawndale Christian Legal Center, who said she would be seeking hearings on behalf of clients. “I suspect there are more children who could be released if they would look at things through a slightly different lens.”

The Cook County public defender’s office also had scheduled some 40 hearings this week, even before yesterday’s news that a 16-year-old had tested positive. Seven hearings were held Monday with five releases secured, and more were under consideration, officials said Tuesday.

The public defender’s office said they have represented 31 juveniles who have been ordered released as part of expedited reviews after nearly 100 hearings last month. The office said judges have been granting releases on electronic monitoring for “a fair number” of minors coming into the system on new cases.

“And where they haven’t, we are asking for reconsideration of detention this week,” said Peter Parry, a deputy Cook County public defender.

The announcement late Monday from Cook County officials that a 16-year-old in the detention center tested positive rattled attorneys who have already worked furiously over the past weeks, as the pandemic swept into adult jails and prisons, to seek releases of youth. Read more here. —Megan Crepeau and Annie Sweeney

11 a.m.: Northwestern University will stay closed for rest of school year; June graduation plan still up in the air

Northwestern University has announced that students will need to finish the school year through remote means, deciding to suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year due to COVID-19.

Many colleges, including the University of Illinois System and the University of Chicago, have already committed to using online lectures and learning indefinitely, but Northwestern said it would reassess the situation by mid April to see if campus could be reopened safely.

“The latest guidance from local, state and federal officials makes clear this will not be feasible,” Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and other administrators said in a campus message Monday night. “Therefore, with heavy hearts, we are announcing that we will maintain the current, remote format for the entirety of Spring Quarter.”

Schapiro said Northwestern has not yet determined whether graduation events scheduled for June will need to be canceled, noting they can proceed “only if we are able to provide students, families, faculty and staff a safe environment in which to gather together to celebrate.”

Most schools with March and May commencements, including the Illinois Institute of Technology, have called off the gatherings and are opting to hold them virtually. Other colleges not able to hold events this summer are considering other ways to honor student achievements, such as postponing ceremonies or inviting students to participate in future graduations.

DePaul University, which was supposed to hold graduation ceremonies at the Wintrust Arena on June 13 and 14, recently announced the events would be canceled but is brainstorming about other ways to celebrate. –Elyssa Cherney

10:41 a.m.: Brookfield Zoo union files grievance over furloughs

After being notified of the furloughs of about a third of Brookfield Zoo workers, Teamsters Local 727, which includes zoo grounds keepers, animal keepers and maintenance workers, filed a grievance against the zoo and an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

The Union called for the reinstatement of furloughed workers, adding that animals who require special care are negatively affected as a result of the decision. –Grace Wong

10:38 a.m.: Cook County sheriff Tom Dart says lawsuit seeking inmate release is without merit

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart argued in a court filing late Monday that his office has been ahead of the coronavirus crisis at the county jail “every step of the way” and that a lawsuit seeking the immediate release of medically vulnerable inmates at the sprawling facility was without merit.


“In a time where the entire world is learning how to manage the novel and highly contagious coronavirus, the sheriff’s office has been proactive in reducing the jail population; implementing screening, isolation, and treatment protocols; implementing preventive measures and disseminating personal protective equipment; and protecting the Jail staff from infection and transmission on ingress and egress,” Dart said in the 30-page filing filed in U.S. District Court.

The filing was a response to a federal lawsuit filed Friday alleging Dart has failed to stop a “a “rapidly unfolding public health disaster” at the jail, which so far has seen 234 detainees and 78 staff members test positive for the virus.

The suit seeks class-action status for all of the jail’s detainees and also a temporary restraining order that would result in the immediate release of any prisoner whose constitutional rights are being violated by their continued detention amid the coronavirus crisis.

Dart said in his response that he has no legal authority to release detainees as the lawsuit seeks.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly scheduled an emergency hearing on the issue for Tuesday morning.The controversy comes a day after the announcement of the first death of a jail inmate from what appears to be COVID-19-related causes.

According to the sheriff’s office, Jeffery Pendleton, 59, was booked into the jail in July 2018 to await trial on charges including armed habitual criminal and armed violence. He was taken to Stroger Hospital on March 30 after testing positive for COVID-19, and he died Sunday night.

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli and other county authorities have pushed hard in recent weeks to reduce the jail population amid the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the jail population has plunged to its lowest level in memory - 4,567 detainees as of Monday. –Jason Meisner

10:25 a.m.: Long lines in Wisconsin amid fears voting will spread the coronavirus

Voters lined up to cast ballots across Wisconsin on Tuesday, ignoring a stay-at-home order in the midst of a pandemic to participate in the state's presidential primary election.

The lines were particularly long in Milwaukee, the state’s largest city and a Democratic stronghold, where just five of 180 traditional polling places were open. Many voters across the state did not have facial coverings in line with public health recommendations. The National Guard — and some Republican officials who resisted efforts to postpone the election — were forced to help run voting sites after thousands of election workers stepped down fearing for their safety. Read more here.

8:45 a.m.: Rabbis to celebrate Passover Seder with virtual crowds and small family gatherings

Large communal gatherings of extended family and friends are the norm for many Jews when they celebrate the Passover Seder, but they are finding alternatives this year as the novel coronavirus pandemic has them sheltered in place.

Some Jews will do large gatherings with teleconferencing technology while others will celebrate with those living together in one home when the holiday starts at sunset Wednesday, continuing to celebrate a tradition more than 3,000 years old.

Rabbi Wendi Geffen, of North Shore Congregation Israel, in Glencoe, said participating in a Seder is the most widely celebrated of all Jewish holidays around the world. It combines telling the story of the Jews leaving slavery in Egypt for freedom in their own land with a festive meal.

Some denominations will celebrate Passover for seven days, ending at sunset April 15, while others will observe it for eight days, ending at sunset April 16.

Most years Geffen hosts a Seder with as many as 40 family members and friends, she said. She said she draws everyone into the storytelling by going around the table as each person reads a part from the Haggadah, a book containing relevant prayers, stories and explanations.

“I’m going to connect with people virtually this year,” Geffen said, explaining she will use an online platform to conduct a communal Seder. “Going around the table is going to be a bit tricky. Not everyone has the same Haggadah.”

Rabbi Nate Crane, of Beth Hillel Bnai Emunah, in Wilmette, said he has experienced a large Seder with family and friends since childhood but this year he will gather with his wife and two daughters in their home. While there is disappointment, he said there is also a greater purpose.

“We are doing what we need to be doing to keep others safe and our family safe,” Crane said. “This is of vital importance in Jewish traditions. Protecting human life overrides almost every other Jewish value.” Read more here. –Steve Sadin

7:40 a.m.: Family of Evergreen Park Walmart employee who died of COVID-19 complications files wrongful death lawsuit

A wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court alleges Walmart managers ignored an Evergreen Park store employee’s COVID-19 symptoms and failed to notify other workers that their colleague may have contracted the virus.

The suit, filed on behalf of the family of Wando Evans, alleges willful and wanton misconduct and reckless disregard, including gross negligence, in the death of Evans, an overnight stock and maintenance associate at the Evergreen Park Walmart store.

Evans, 51, of Chicago, died March 25 due to complications of COVID-19 with morbid obesity a contributing factor, the Cook County medical examiner’s office determined.

The suit charges that store management initially ignored Evans despite knowing that he and other employees were experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Read more here. –Zak Koeske, Daily Southtown

7 a.m.: Niles Animal Hospital reopens after death of owner who tested positive for COVID-19

Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center reopened this week following the death of its longtime owner and the diagnosis of at least one other employee with COVID-19, a hospital representative said.

The veterinary clinic at 7278 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Niles was given clearance by state and county health officials and opened Monday to emergency and “essential” cases only after being closed since March 26.

Dr. Peter Sakas, owner of Niles Animal Hospital, died March 30 after testing positive for COVID-19 several days earlier, family members said.


One other employee of the animal hospital also tested positive for COVID-19, but was doing “very well” last week and had only mild symptoms, said practice manager Michelle Brown. A second employee was tested, but had not immediately received the results of the test, and several additional employees who were unable to be tested reported feeling sick and remained at home, Brown said last week. Read more here. —Jennifer Johnson

6:50 a.m.: Avoid the temptation of spring weather Tuesday and heed safe-at-home order — or else — Chicago mayor pleads

Temperatures will likely break into the 70s in the Chicago area Tuesday for the first time this year, sparking concerns that residents will ignore social distancing guidelines and a state stay-at-home order issued to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

The order urges residents to stay inside unless they are engaging in an essential business like grocery shopping. Those who don’t adhere to these mandates will be warned by Chicago police the first time and may be cited or arrested the next time.

The city still allows people to take part in “outdoor activity,” including walking, running and biking, but it prohibits gatherings of 10 or more people. Officials have also banned close-contact sports, such as basketball, soccer and football.

The Chicago Police Department issued 1,584 group dispersals, 11 citations and three arrests between March 31 and Sunday to people in violation of the stay-at-home order. Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned Monday that the city would step up enforcement efforts as the weather warmed. Read more here —John Byrne, Sophie Sherry

6:45 a.m.: Baltimore elected officials pressing for release of more detailed COVID-19 statistics after Illinois releases data

As Illinois released more detailed figures about the racial breakdown of people known to have the new coronavirus and Chicago stepped up a campaign to fight COVID-19 in minority communities, Baltimore elected officials are pressing for the release of similar information.

U.S. cities with large black and brown populations such as Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and New Orleans have emerged as hot spots of the coronavirus outbreak. But citing federal health privacy laws and a lack of information from testing sites, some jurisdictions have not been releasing detailed information about the location and demographics of cases. In Baltimore, about 62% of the population is black, according to U.S. Census data.

On Monday, the Baltimore City Council president introduced a bill Monday night requiring the city health commissioner report patients’ races and ZIP codes during a health emergency. The bill would make public data that Maryland is not releasing during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Baltimore Sun. Read more here. —Associated Press, Tribune staff

6:45 a.m. Lightfoot to sign executive order on immigrants and refugees

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was scheduled to sign an executive order Tuesday morning regarding immigrants and refugees’ access to coronavirus-related benefits offered by the city of Chicago. Details of what the order will mean weren’t immediately released. Check back for updates. —Chicago Tribune staff

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