Two more CPD employees diagnosed with COVID-19
Two more Chicago Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
As of Friday morning, 11 people in the CPD — which has more than 13,000 employees — have tested positive. Most recently, the virus was confirmed in a patrol officer on the South Side and a civilian employee on the West Side, according to a departmental statement.
Interim CPD Supt. Charlie Beck announced new department protocols Wednesday to prevent the spread of the disease among officers.
However, the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing rank-and-file officers, has said the measures don’t go nearly far enough to protect the health and well-being of officers.A man was arrested Monday night after allegedly entering the 11th District police station and coughing on front desk staff, police said. Another man was charged with coughing in an officer’s face Sunday morning and claiming he had the coronavirus.
Read more about confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Chicago Police Department.
7:33 a.m. Live map of known coronavirus cases in Illinois
We’ve partnered with The Chicago Reporter in their efforts to track and map every known coronavirus case in the state as new infections are confirmed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Follow our live map for daily updates here.
6:44 a.m. Coronavirus stimulus bill House vote could require members to assemble
The potential insistence of one House member for a roll call on the emergency $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill — poised to pass by a voice vote Friday — forced House leaders late Thursday to ask members if “they are able and willing” to rush back to Washington.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., in a Thursday night notice to members said, “Members are advised that it is possible this measure will not pass by voice vote. Members are encouraged to follow the guidance of their local and state health officials, however if they are able and willing to be in Washington D.C. by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Members are encouraged to do so with caution.”
At least two members of the Illinois delegation hurried back, Democrats Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Jan Schakowsky.
“Took the last flight back tonight,” Schakowsky spokesman Miguel Ayala told the Sun-Times a little after midnight Thursday.
The Senate passed the giant measure 96-0. Given the spreading coronavirus pandemic, the House attending physician has been recommending telecommuting at a time when governors have issued stay-at-home orders.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy agreed to a voice vote since there is bipartisan agreement on the package.
Read the full story from Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet.
6:02 a.m. How recreational weed went from illegal to ‘essential’ in 3 months
Unlike thousands of businesses, pot stores have been able to keep their doors open under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order, which labeled all dispensaries and cultivation centers “essential businesses.” The decision to allow the high times to keep rolling amid the rising public health crisis is an acknowledgment that, for many Illinoisans, buying weed is as vital as doing laundry or grocery shopping.
As similar stay-at-home directives are being issued in states across the country, many have deemed marijuana businesses essential. In Massachusetts, medical sales are allowed to continue but recreational operations were forced to shut down on Monday — a move pot advocates said was short-sighted.
Margo Vesely, executive of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the country’s oldest weed advocacy group, argues that it’s important for people who use the drug for health and wellness purposes to continue to have access to recreational pot. That’s because many of them simply can’t afford to pay for a doctor’s visit to get a prescription or the $100 registration fee for a medical license.
New cases
6:28 a.m. EDITORIAL: Stay home. Save lives. It’s as simple as that, Chicago
We have no choice but to throw our support behind Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to shut down the Lakefront Trail and other public spaces to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Lightfoot had to do it, without a doubt. The virus is spreading rapidly here in Chicago and the rest of Illinois. Lives are at stake, plain and simple.
So, too, is the fate of our health care system and hospitals, already coping with dozens of COVID-19 patients in intensive care.
Just how dire are things? The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board has more.
