Hey there! It’s Thursday, and I’m still playing the video game Animal Crossing, which apparently is a good thing. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Illinois saw largest number of deaths reported in a day

State officials announced 125 people have died, marking the largest fatality count reported in a single day. That brings the state’s total death toll to more than 1,000. Officials also announced 1,140 new known cases, pushing the total number of known infections to more than 25,000. [WBEZ]

The news came after Gov. JB Pritzker today said he will work with the leaders of six other Midwest states on lifting stay-at-home orders and reopening local economies. The other states include Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota.

That pact comes as President Donald Trump is expected to issue guidelines later today for states to lift restrictions. [WBEZ]

You can find a map of where Illinois infections have been reported here. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, the pandemic has not stopped shootings in Chicago, which are up 10% compared to the same time as last year. Frontline anti-violence workers say they are hamstrung by the virus and efforts to contain it. [WBEZ]

Inmates at Cook County Jail told the Chicago Tribune they are staging hunger strikes over their continued detention as the coronavirus spreads. [Chicago Tribune]

And Illinois’ stay-at-home order highlights disparities in schools and neighborhoods in Chicago. Can mentors help bridge those gaps, even online? [WBEZ]

2. New jobless claims intensify debate over reopening nation

More than 5 million people filed unemployment claims last week, bringing the total to 22 million in the last four weeks. That means nearly all of the jobs gained since the Great Recession have been erased. [NPR]

In Illinois, nearly 635,000 workers have filed for jobless benefits. [WBEZ]

The bleak economic news comes as public health officials, elected leaders and employers debate over when to lift restrictions that have shuttered many businesses in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19.

President Trump wants to reopen the nation by next month, but some business leaders told the president that there needs to be a mass testing for the novel coronavirus before restrictions are lifted. [Washington Post]

What will it take to end shutdowns across the country? Here are five recommendations from health experts. [NPR]

Meanwhile, protests have erupted this week in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Utah, North Carolina and Virginia against stay-at-home orders that have widely been credited for slowing the spread of the virus. [USA Today]

In Michigan, about a quarter of the population is trying to obtain jobless benefits, a stark example of the economic damage from the pandemic. [Washington Post]

3. Small business loan program is out of money

An emergency federal loan program to help small businesses during the pandemic has been depleted, a spokeswoman for the Small Business Administration said today. The Paycheck Protection Program, created just two weeks ago as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act, was initially allocated $349 billion.

The news comes as the Trump administration urges Congress to approve a $250 billion infusion for the loan program. But Congress has struggled to reach a deal as Democrats push for more money for hospitals and state and local governments. [NPR]

Meanwhile, several million people who filed their taxes through H&R Block, TurboTax and other services were not able to get their $1,200 stimulus checks yesterday, and some parents said they didn’t get an additional $500 for children. [Washington Post]

4. San Francisco launches ambitious plan to alert residents who may have been exposed

San Francisco, which was the first U.S. city to issue a stay-at-home order, is taking what health experts say is the next vital step in controlling the pandemic: contact tracing. That means warning people who might have been exposed to the virus, getting them tested and putting them under a 14-day quarantine. [NPR]

Meanwhile in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the state’s shutdown to May 15. [New York Times]

Cuomo has reportedly hired consulting firm McKinsey & Company to help craft a science-based plan for what needs to be done in order to reopen businesses. [Reuters]

In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers announced today that public schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. He also said his stay-at-home order will be extended to May 26. [AP]

Nationwide, there have been more than 636,000 known cases and more than 28,000 deaths reported. [NPR]

5. Britain extends lockdown

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced today that social-distancing measures will be extended for another three weeks.

Raab, who is filling in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from COVID-19, said the government is working with a broad plan to keep the lockdown in place for three months, but the situation would be reevaluated at the end of April. [BBC]

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a nationwide state of emergency. Abe also said plans are in the works to give stimulus checks of 100,000 yen, or about $930, to Japanese citizens. [NPR]

In South Korea, voters delivered a landslide election victory to the center-left Democratic Party largely for it’s successful efforts to contain the virus. [NPR]

And in China, nationalism and xenophobia have emerged as the virus rages outside of China’s borders. [New York Times]

Worldwide, there have been more than 2.1 million known cases and more than 141,000 deaths reported. [Johns Hopkins]

Here’s what else is happening

• Newly declassified footnotes from a Justice Department watchdog report raise the possibility that Russian disinformation made it into the infamous Christopher Steele dossier. [AP]
• U.S. Navy officials accuse Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of harassing American warships in the Persian Gulf. [NPR]
• A lawsuit has been filed over a controversial demolition at a shuttered coal power plant in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood. [Chicago Tribune]
• Michael Jordan gave a rare interview today. [Chicago Tribune]

Oh, and one more thing …

I had a dream last night that I found an action figure of actor Timothée Chalamet in a sale bin at some store. But Chalamet was dressed in an outer-space getup that reminded me of Dune.

If you’re not familiar, Dune is the epic science fiction novel about two powerful families who battle it out for control over a planet that holds “the spice,” a crucial, mind-altering substance that allows space travel. David Lynch directed a movie adaptation in the ’80s that starred Sting.

I woke up thinking, “What was that about? Is Chalamet in a remake of Dune?” Well, it looks like dreams come true, because Chalamet plays the main character in a two-part remake that begins Dec. 18. [Vanity Fair]

Tell me something good …

What’s something that made you smile this week?

Vikram writes:

“I looked at the birthday card in my home office that my six-year-old daughter made for my 40th birthday a couple of weeks ago — it says, ‘You’re the best daddy I ever had.’ My wife and I have only ever been married to each other. But the expression of emotion is priceless.”

And Amy writes:

“We’re having a best worst joke contest at work. We’re seeing all sorts of groaners! And they sure do brighten a day!”

What made you smile this week? Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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