About 60 miles south of Chicago, Kankakee County has seen 874 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 36 deaths and 204 recoveries. Local officials weigh in on the state’s handling of the pandemic.
COVID Across Chicago
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is facing political pressure from some areas of the state that want to reopen sooner than Chicago. We visit Kankakee to see how residents, farmers and others are coping with the pandemic.
Ald. George Cardenas, 12th Ward, says he doesn’t agree that Chicago businesses and restaurants should be forced to stay mostly closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2018, residents of McKinley Park have raised concerns about the MAT Asphalt plant in their neighborhood. Now, several environmental groups say the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue.
An environmental dispute in the Southwest Side neighborhood of McKinley Park has loomed large in the community’s response to the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown has hit hard in Chicago communities that have historically suffered from disinvestment and crime, including the Far South Side communities of Roseland and Pullman.
Over the past year, the 9th Ward alderman has emerged as a staunch critic of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Now, he says Lightfoot has downplayed the negative impact the pandemic is having on the city’s budget.
Chicago’s Roseland Community Hospital has been on the front lines of the pandemic. But it wasn’t included in Illinois’ recent distribution of remdesivir, a move that’s angered hospital officials.
The Belmont Cragin neighborhood has become a COVID-19 epicenter, reporting 1,993 cases in its major zip code Monday. We speak with Chicago Alds. Ariel Reboyras (30th Ward) and Felix Cardona, Jr. (31st Ward).
One of the new COVID-19 testing sites Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday will be in some of Chicago’s hardest-hit neighborhoods, including this largely Latino neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side.
The Northwest Side neighborhood has emerged as a COVID-19 hot spot, reporting the second highest number of cases in Illinois. We learn how Christopher House is serving the community during the pandemic.
As new numbers show COVID-19 rates among Chicago Latinos have surged in recent weeks, 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado is pushing for more testing in the community. But that’s not the only problem residents are facing.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently highlighted the high rate of COVID-19 in Latino communities. As part of our reporting series, we spent the day in a predominantly Latino neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Chicago’s Latino communities has skyrocketed in recent weeks, according to city data. Cristina Pacione-Zayas of the Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago says the pandemic has caused a “huge scare” in Humboldt Park.
The Hyde Park-Kenwood area is the home of former President Barack Obama, and in many ways it is the intellectual and academic heart of the city, with the University of Chicago laid out along the midway.
As with many other local governments, COVID-19 is hurting Cook County’s bottom line. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle says the county could be facing a projected budget shortfall around $260 million.
