Good morning, Chicago.
For the first time since May, the entire state of Illinois is either at a low or medium COVID-19 community level, the city’s top doctor said Tuesday.
Across Chicago, COVID-19 cases diagnosed in laboratory settings average fewer than 300 a day, and hospitalizations for the virus are averaging 25 Chicagoans a day, public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
Both metrics mean that the community levels for COVID-19 are “thankfully” low in Chicago, she said.
“So, (it’s) very much not gone, but in good control at the moment,” she added.
Community levels are a measure from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help determine what preventive measures need to be taken in an area. But the basic guidance for COVID-19 protection has not changed, which includes staying home and getting tested if you are sick and wearing a mask in crowded indoor settings.
Health officials are recommending that people get the flu vaccine as they prepare for what Arwady said could be the worst flu season in the last two years. Precautions for COVID-19 have also protected against the flu, but now some of those precautions are waning as COVID-19 stabilizes.
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Only when it was too late did Christine Settingsgaard see the red flags festooning her online boyfriend.
He communicated by text messages and phone calls, never by video. He always had an excuse for why he couldn’t meet in person. And when he was supposedly called away to a remote job site, he said he couldn’t access his bank, which led to an urgent request.
He asked Settingsgaard, 37, a single mother of three who lives in Barrington, to deposit an $85,000 check into her bank account and then wire $82,000 to his sister in Utah. When she was done, he said, he would give her a big surprise.
Settingsgaard got a surprise, all right.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a disaster declaration Tuesday for the apartment building in Austin that collapsed in September, killing one person. The declaration will allow those affected to apply for loans not covered by insurance, according to a news release.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency said in the release the U.S. Small Business Administration approved the disaster declaration for the building at 5601 W. West End Ave. where a man was killed and seven others injured.
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The Arlington Heights Village Board unanimously rejected a proposed referendum to prohibit public subsidies for a proposed Chicago Bears stadium development or any other private enterprise.
The board voted 9-0 to reject a petition for an “Anti-Corporate Welfare Ordinance,” which had been signed by some 565 registered voters and residents.
Mayor Thomas Hayes urged rejection of the measure, saying it would cause “severe negative economic impact.” He also alleged that some petitioners had said they were misled about the purpose of the proposal.
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In 2001, 37-year-old Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, beating Mark McGwire’s single-season record of 70 set three years earlier. You probably remember it happened, whether you watched it or not.
Even if you don’t have a relationship to baseball, it’s one of those facts many people know. Bonds is the single-season home run record holder. And he’s also the career home run record holder with 762. Again, these are facts.
You can’t erase it or ignore it, writes Shakeia Taylor. It’s a major-league record and it will be there forever. Even if it ever is broken, it still will be there at No. 2. A reminder of what some seem to consider the worst scandal of modern baseball — doping.
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If you’ve got a passion for karaoke, if you think you can sing, here’s your chance — Chicago is putting on a first-time, monthlong singing competition in October with a prize of $5,000 and inestimable bragging rights at stake.
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