41st Ward Ald. Anthony Napolitano says he’d like to see Chicago move faster to reopen its economy, even as COVID-19 cases remain high in the city.
“I would love to see a quicker reopening, I really would. And I say that as a father and a husband, and I had two siblings that caught the virus, I lost a friend to the virus as well, so I get all sides of it,” he said. “But I also get how society reacts, and how we feel like this is not healthy in general, and I’d love to see things open at a quicker rate.”
Located on Chicago’s Northwest side near O’Hare Airport, the 41st Ward is home to many cops and first responders, including Napolitano himself, who is a former CPD officer and firefighter.
“You can’t swing a dead cat in any direction up here without hitting a cop, fireman, union worker, tradesman or a nurse or a doctor. The attitude is here, let’s just get at it, let’s do it, do what we gotta do to get through it. They want to be done with it,” he said.
Napolitano says he respects Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s responsibility to “see it from a bigger perspective than we do” when it comes to allowing businesses to reopen, but hopes she’ll act soon to loosen some restrictions.
“I think they’re doing their due diligence, but at the same time, I would love to see our city and our state follow suit with the other states around us, and get the city open, and get the state open and running, at a quicker pace,” he said.
Community Reporting Series
“Chicago Tonight” is expanding its community reporting. We’re hitting the streets to speak with your neighbors, local businesses, agencies and leaders about COVID-19, the economy, racial justice, education and more. See where we’ve been and what we’ve learned by using the map below. Or select a community using the drop-down menu. Points in red represent our series COVID-19 Across Chicago; blue marks our series “Chicago Tonight” in Your Neighborhood.
