“I am confident that not just by May 1 but maybe even a little bit earlier we could open up to everyone in the state, everyone that’s eligible,” Pritzker said during an event at Loretto Hospital on Chicago’s West Side.
The letter to acting FEMA Administrator Robert Fenton was signed by 11 of Illinois’ 13 Democratic House members, who represent at least parts of the suburbs and collar counties, and initiated by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Deerfield Democrat.
Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:50 p.m.: New round of COVID stimulus checks to start arriving this weekend, officials say
Along with daylight saving time, this weekend could bring some Americans fatter bank balances.
Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday that processing of the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend.
President Joe Biden signed the new $1.9 trillion rescue package on Thursday, the day after it won final passage in the House. The measure provides for payments to qualifying individuals of up to $1,400, with payments to a qualifying family of four of $5,600.
“The payments will be delivered automatically to taxpayers even as the IRS continues delivering regular tax refunds,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.
3:55p.m.: Pritzker says he’s confident Illinois can meet Biden’s May 1 deadline for making all adults eligible for a coronavirus shot
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday said Illinois shouldn’t have a problem meeting President Joe Biden’s May 1 deadline for opening up vaccine eligibility to all adults.
“I am confident that not just by May 1 but maybe even a little bit earlier we could open up to everyone in the state, everyone that’s eligible,” Pritzker said during an event at Loretto Hospital on Chicago’s West Side.
Current state guidelines limit eligibility for vaccinations to health care workers, people 65 and older, front-line workers in places such as schools and grocery stores, and people under 65 with certain preexisting health conditions that put them at greater risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms.
The city of Chicago and some other local health departments haven’t followed the state’s lead in opening up vaccinations to people younger than 65, though Chicago officials have said they hope to expand eligibility later this month.
Pritzker said he thinks the state can make the vaccine accessible to a wider range of people because the Biden administration so far has lived up to its promises to increase shipments of doses to the states.
“I feel very confident moving forward that supplies are increasing, that the president is doing everything he can to get us there,” the governor said.
2:46 p.m.: Will County to open vaccination clinics in Monee, Wilmington
Eastern Will County residents soon will have a vaccination clinic closer to home.
Will County officials Friday announced two clinics will open later this month. A clinic at St. Rose Catholic Church, 634 S. Kankakee St. in Wilmington, will open the week of March 22. The second clinic at the former Second Place Church, 6370 W. Emerald Parkway in Monee, will open the following week.
Both clinics will be by appointment only, open to county residents who qualify for phase 1b, with a focus on serving residents in eastern Will County.
1:40 p.m.: A year of COVID-19 deaths: 10 stories of how Illinois families are facing life after losing a loved one
One year ago, on March 16, COVID-19 claimed its first victim in Illinois, 61-year-old Chicagoan Patricia Frieson. The virus has been a dread force ever since, taking as many as 238 lives in a single day, sparing neither children nor centenarians.
More than 20,000 have died in the state, but that number, horrifying as it is, doesn’t begin to capture the loss felt by those left behind.
To them, it looms each day through text messages that don’t come, homes that feel barren, memories that arise from old jewelry or new tattoos. Even as vaccines promise an end to the pandemic, their pain isn’t going anywhere.
On this solemn anniversary, here are the stories of 10 families and how they are facing life after COVID-19 claimed their loved ones.
1:26 p.m.: 11 Illinois Democratic US House members sign letter ripping FEMA’s decision to limit United Center vaccine slots: ‘Pockets of vulnerability exist all across our state’
A group of Illinois’ Democratic U.S. House members sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday condemning this week’s rollout of the highly trumpeted United Center mass vaccination site, arguing the decision to restrict appointments to Chicago and Cook County residents on behalf of equity goals has angered some of their most vulnerable constituents.
The letter to acting FEMA Administrator Robert Fenton was signed by 11 of Illinois’ 13 Democratic House members, who represent at least parts of the suburbs and collar counties, and initiated by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Deerfield Democrat.
“Many of our constituents who fall in the vulnerable category, but who don’t live in Chicago, felt frustrated with the recent determination to limit eligibility at the United Center Federal Mass Vaccination Center for Illinois residents,” the letter reads. “Their confusion was exacerbated with the abruptness of the announcement, and the consequent uncertainty surrounding their future access to a vaccination appointment.”
12:10 p.m.: 1,763 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 39 additional deaths reported
Illinois health officials on Friday announced 1,763 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 39 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of known infections in Illinois to 1,206,172 and the statewide death toll to 20,901 since the start of the pandemic.
Officials also reported 93,913 new tests in the last 24 hours. The statewide positivity rate for cases is 2.3%.
—Chicago Tribune staff
9:19 a.m.: Naperville District 203, Indian Prairie District 204 students can return to in-person classes 5 days a week in April
Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 announced Thursday they plan to reopen schools five days a week in early April after students return from spring break.
Face masks will continue to be mandatory.
Both districts are to provide more information at their respective upcoming school board meetings.
7:50 a.m.: City investigators cite eight businesses for COVID-19 violations
Chicago investigators cited eight establishments last weekend for COVID-19 violations, officials said.
The citations resulted from 73 investigations by the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection between March 4 and March 7.
6 a.m.: Fully vaccinated but scared to remove your mask? Experts say getting back to a mask-free norm may take time for some.
As more people across the country become vaccinated against COVID-19, the CDC released guidelines Monday allowing for fully vaccinated people to gather together without masks. But pulling off the mask and adjusting to life before the pandemic will come with a learning curve, according to experts.
Dr. Aderonke Pederson, an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the one year anniversary of the pandemic has become a landmark for people who have adjusted to a new normal.
“If we were talking one week or two weeks of a change in routine, then reverting back to a semblance of normalcy would be a different point. But we’re talking about a year of change and adjusting, a year of loss on many levels,” she said.
Hesitation among those who are fully vaccinated stems from learned behaviors as well as trauma associated with those who have been affected by the virus.
6 a.m.: One year after the St. Patrick’s party raged, Chicago bars say they can’t risk bending the rules: ‘The challenging part will be turning people away’
Masks and social distancing are about to meet their stiffest test to date: St. Patrick’s Day.
The booziest weekend of the year for many Chicago bars will run headlong into a buzz saw of COVID-19 restrictions, and several St. Patrick’s Day hot spots say they are committed to subdued celebrations — because there is no other choice.
“The rules are the rules,” said Bobby McGuire, the second-generation owner of Butch McGuire’s bar in the Gold Coast. “The challenging part will be turning people away.”
Parades have been canceled for a second consecutive year, and restaurant and bar capacity will be limited by COVID-19 restrictions — not to mention those masks and social distance — but bar operators still expect healthy St. Patrick’s Day crowds.
A typical Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day sees Butch McGuire’s packed to its usual capacity of 235 from opening at 9 a.m. until its 2 a.m. close. This year, Butch McGuire’s took reservations for seated parties of six with 6 feet between tables, and sold out this week. No walk-ins will be allowed.
6 a.m. How did life change during the last year of the pandemic? Here’s what readers told us, in 7 charts.
Over the course of the last year, pandemic life has changed quite a bit. In the beginning, few people owned masks; now we have guidance about how to wear two of them at a time. Restaurants have adapted to pandemic dining, and some people have baked their way through entire books of recipes. More than 10% of Illinois has been fully vaccinated, and many are still anxiously awaiting when it will be their turn to get the shot.
We asked readers questions about how their lives differ now from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they view the future. Here’s what they shared.
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