Newsletter: Chicago Is On Track For A COVID-19 Setback

The city could hit a benchmark for reviving more restrictions next week, says a virus modeler at Northwestern University. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

chicago coronavirus
Gulls occupy the 31st Street Beach in Chicago on Monday, May 25, 2020. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo
chicago coronavirus
Gulls occupy the 31st Street Beach in Chicago on Monday, May 25, 2020. Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo

Newsletter: Chicago Is On Track For A COVID-19 Setback

The city could hit a benchmark for reviving more restrictions next week, says a virus modeler at Northwestern University. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

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Hey there! It’s Friday, and it’s a busy one. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Chicago could soon hit a benchmark for moving backwards in its reopening plan

One important number that city officials say they’re watching is the rolling, 7-day average of COVID-19 cases, which experts say gives a more accurate indication of the size of the pandemic than day-to-day numbers that can fluctuate.

Chicago Public School CEO Janice Jackson said surpassing an average of 400 cases per day could lead the school district to offer only virtual classes. And Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said this month the city would move backwards in its reopening plan if Chicago reached that target.

That could happen “within the next week,” says Jaline Gerardin, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University who has collaborated with state officials on virus modeling and data collection.

Gerardin told me this morning that even if the city issued a shelter-in-place order right now, we would still see daily cases averaging at 400.

“I think there is nothing we can do to prevent getting to 400,” Garardin says. “It’s all about our response to prevent busting to 500, 600, et cetera.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office and the Chicago Department of Public Health did not immediately return calls.

Gerardin’s estimate comes weeks after health experts told me and WBEZ’s Vivian McCall that Illinois is losing ground in its fight to contain COVID-19. You can find more information about the state’s case counts and hospitalizations in this link.

Meanwhile: “It took WBEZ less than an hour at the downtown park to find around 10 people who said they were either blatantly ignoring or completely unaware of a travel order that’s meant to force travelers from certain states to quarantine for 14 days before hitting the Chicago streets,” reports WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel. [WBEZ]

2. What will happen with jobless benefits?

Tens of millions of Americans could soon see their unemployment benefits slashed. The White House and congressional Democrats traded blame today over faltering negotiations as the extra $600-per-week boost to jobless benefits is set to expire.

The White House and Senate Republicans signaled support for extending those enhanced benefits for another week, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed that idea, saying that a short-term fix would only make sense if a deal were close on a broader relief package. [Washington Post]

3. Fauci says vaccine could be available by end of the year or early 2021

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, assured members of Congress today that a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine could be ready for the American public by the end of this year or in early 2021.

Fauci said there will be a priority list that determines who gets a vaccine early on, but “ultimately, within a reasonable time, the plans allow for any American who needs the vaccine to get it.” [AP]

Meanwhile, a study from Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago found that children may carry up to 100 times as much of the virus as adults. [Chicago Tribune]

4. Chicago Public Schools agreed to pay salaries and pensions of cops in schools

“In the midst of a heated debate last year about whether police officers should work in Chicago’s public schools, district leaders agreed to pay up to the full salary and benefits of staff assigned to the $33 million program, even though they are police department employees,” report WBEZ’s Sarah Karp and Chalkbeat Chicago’s Yana Kunichoff.

That comes out to $152,000 per police officer and $172,000 per sergeant on a 12-month contract. But the school district “hasn’t paid the Chicago Police Department yet,” Karp and Kunichoff report. [WBEZ]

5. There is no such thing as “universal mail-in voting”

President Donald Trump shifted his reasons for wanting to delay the November election, saying the U.S. is sending “hundreds of millions of universal mail-in ballots.”

As NPR notes in this fact check, a handful of states “send ballots to all registered voters, but no states send ballots out to people who are not registered to vote.”

And there is no great partisan divide over mail-in voting, as Trump suggests. About half of all Republicans nationwide supported allowing all registered voters nationwide the option to vote by mail without an excuse, according to a Pew Research poll. [NPR]

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is delaying its elections for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

  • Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says he will not resign. [WBEZ]
  • A man has been charged in this week’s shooting at a Chicago police station. [Chicago Sun-Times]
  • A federal judge unsealed hundreds of documents related to the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, who allegedly helped Jeffrey Epstein run a sex-trafficking operation. [NPR]
  • Parts of Florida are bracing for Hurricane Isaias. [AP]

Oh, and one more thing …

This story takes me back to my college days: Two emus have been banned from a hotel in a tiny town in Australia’s Outback. The emus are siblings Kevin and Carol, who were raised by an animal rescuer and appeared to be pretty cool at the hotel until they learned how to climb stairs. That’s when the feathers hit the fan.

“The new skill gave the birds access to the pub of the Yaraka Hotel in Queensland,” reports NPR. “Once inside, they unleashed a long-legged brand of chaos. They snatched toast and French fries away from customers. One of the birds even went behind the bar. A stern response was required.” [NPR]

Tell me something good …

What song brings back a good memory for you?

Debby Rabeor writes:

“A song that always brings great memories is Love on a Farm Boys Wages by XTC. My husband “courted” me with it while we were students at Columbia College together.”

And Brian writes:

“Every day I listen to any version (there are five that I know of) of the Pet Shop Boys singing ‘It’s Alright’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On.’ One gives me hope, the other fuels my soul.”

Thanks for all the responses this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t share them all, but it was nice hearing from y’all!

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