WBEZ’s Rundown Of Today’s Top News: What’s Causing The New Surge?

Michigan Ave
Two people walk down Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ
Michigan Ave
Two people walk down Michigan Avenue in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

WBEZ’s Rundown Of Today’s Top News: What’s Causing The New Surge?

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Hey there! It’s Friday, and my husband and I rewatched ‘Black Swan,’ and it’s got to be the worst movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You don’t even see the swan mobile! Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Why are coronavirus cases surging in Illinois?

The state is closing out what has been the worst week yet for new coronavirus cases, causing Gov. JB Pritzker to revive business restrictions in most of Illinois.

Several studies have shown that bars and restaurants offer fertile ground for the virus to spread, but local officials have provided limited data on where infections are occurring.

And that hits at a much deeper problem for Illinois as it faces a record surge. As WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch reports, “officials still know little about who is diagnosed with the novel coronavirus or where they’re getting sick.”

That’s because Illinois never got contact tracing completely off the ground. Contact tracing is the process of tracking infections through its web of possible transmission. The World Health Organization said governments could prevent lockdowns if they ramped up contact tracing. But for Illinois, it may be too late for contact tracing, some public health experts say. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Illinois once again broke a record for the number of new cases reported in a single day. Officials announced 6,943 new cases and an additional 36 deaths. Over the last week, Illinois has seen an average of 5,215 cases per day, up 70% from the average two weeks ago. [WBEZ]

2. Biden maintains advantage in Electoral College, NPR analysis shows

With just four days left until the Nov. 3 election, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a clear edge in the Electoral College with a projected 279 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 125.

“That means even if Trump were to win all of the toss-up states, he’d still come up 11 electoral votes short and would need to win over at least one state currently leaning in Biden’s direction,” an NPR analysis found. [NPR]

One of those tossup states is … Texas, where Sen. Kamala Harris is campaigning today. More than 9 million voters in the Lone Star State have already cast their ballots. That’s more than all the ballots counted in Texas during the 2016 election. [AP]

Meanwhile, Trump is trying to woo Black voters. The president’s campaign hopes his message on criminal justice reform, among other issues, will help put him ahead of Biden. [NPR]

3. The U.S. has seen more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases in the past week

The nation suffered a record number of new cases this week, a troubling sign as the weather turns colder and offers more opportunities for the virus to spread. As The New York Times reports, half of all U.S. counties saw cases climb this month. And the number of people hospitalized is also rising, with almost half of all states seeing record highs. [New York Times]

The situation is particularly bad in the Midwest. In nearby Wisconsin, hospitals are at or above 90% of their capacities in many areas. [Wisconsin Public Radio]

President Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. continue to downplay the pandemic. The president’s son dismissed COVID-19 deaths as “almost nothing” during an interview on Thursday, a day when about 1,000 people had died from the disease. [Buzzfeed News]

In Europe, cases and deaths are also climbing. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of a “long, hard winter” as a nationwide lockdown is scheduled to begin on Monday. [BBC]

4. Lightfoot announces 10-day plan for potential civil unrest

Mayor Lori Lightfoot today unveiled a “preparedness plan” to address any civil unrest that takes place around the election. The plan comes as Lightfoot has faced criticism over her handling of unrest over the summer that saw many downtown businesses looted.

The plan includes putting more officers on patrol and deploying between 60 to 300 city salt trucks and snow plows to block off streets, reports WBEZ’s Claudia Morell.

Lightfoot said today that the summer protests offered a “humbling” lesson, and city officials have been planning for the election since late summer.

Lightfoot urged Chicagoans to channel their energy into peaceful protests regardless of who wins the election.

“We need to deescalate from this long difficult year,” the mayor said. [WBEZ]

5. The Supreme Court next week will hear a case on whether it’s OK to discriminate against LGBTQ people

The nation’s high court next week will hear oral arguments in a case that will be the first test on religious liberty and LGBTQ rights with Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the bench.

The case is over whether the city of Philadelphia can enforce a nondiscrimination policy for sexual orientation on Catholic Social Services. The child-welfare agency lost a city contract for foster services after it refused to accept LGBTQ applicants. [Vox]

Meanwhile, many LGBTQ couples are rushing to the altar because they worry same-sex marriage may be in danger now that Barrett is on the Supreme Court. [NBC News]

Here’s what else is happening

  • A 7-magnitude earthquake struck the Aegean Sea near the coasts of Greece and Turkey. [NPR]
  • U.S. officials are expelling migrant children from other countries to Mexico. [New York Times]
  • The Trump administration is removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. [NPR]
  • Feeling burned out? Then take a listen to today’s new episode of Nerdette. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

The overall winner of WBEZ’s virtual costume contest has been decided! Earlier this week, we asked you, the public, to vote on who should take home the title.

Without further ado, let’s congratulate Ichabod the cat, who dressed as the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (with help from owner, Nicole Hall).

You can find a picture of Ichabod in the link, as well as the winners of other categories and some honorable mentions. Thanks to everyone who participated! [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

Who is one of your favorite fictional villains?

Emma writes:

“My favorite fictional villain has always been The Wicked Witch of the West. She has to be one of the most quotable villains for moments requiring high drama: ‘I’m melting…!’ or ‘I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!’ ”

Linda writes:

“Who did not love/hate Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs?”

And @Simpsonology tweets:

“Our favorite villain is Charles Montgomery Burns, who has hounds on the ready, is an active member of the Springfield Republican Party, and really likes his vest.”

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

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday. If you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.