COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Heres whats happening Monday – Chicago Tribune

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Teachers Unions leadership reached a tentative agreement Sunday to reopen city schools for families seeking in-person instruction, narrowly avoiding a strike, sources said. Any deal is contingent on broader union approval of the terms via a vote by the unions 25,000 members.

Union officials indicated a vote by CTUs 25,000 members could begin late Monday or Tuesday, but only after the House of Delegates decides whether to send the vote to the full membership.

Under the tentative framework, the first group of students and staff pre-K and special education cluster programs would return Feb. 11.

Heres whats happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

5:50 p.m. (update): Dems propose $1,400 direct payments to individuals as part of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan

Democrats on a pivotal House panel have proposed an additional $1,400 in direct payments to individuals, bolstered unemployment benefits and more generous tax breaks for families with children and for lower earners as Congress began piecing together a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package on Monday.

The plan is expected to closely follow President Joe Bidens proposed package to address the tolls of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 460,000 Americans, and the nations still staggering economy, which has lost 10 million jobs since the crisis began last year. Biden, less than three weeks into his presidency, has declared that defeating the virus and fixing the economy are his top priorities.

The proposal by the Ways and Means Committee, which plans to vote on it by weeks end, would also expand tax credits for families with children, for lower-earning people and for Americans who buy health insurance on marketplaces created by former President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act. It would also provide health care subsidies for some unemployed workers.

Spending by Ways and Means, one of Congress most powerful committees, is expected to exceed $900 billion, nearly half of Bidens overall plan. The House Education and Labor Committee also previewed its plans on Monday, a roughly $350 billion package that includes $130 billion to help schools reopen safely, $40 billion for colleges battered by the pandemic and gradually raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Top Democrats hope the House will approve the complete bill later this month and send a final House-Senate version to Biden for his signature before mid-March, when crucial emergency unemployment benefits will otherwise expire.

5:45 p.m.: Will County Board OKs $1.6 million contract to handle calls on COVID-19 vaccination

Will County Board members Monday approved a $1.6 million contract for a call center to handle the influx of phone calls to the Will County Health Department.

The action during a specially called county board meeting will aid in the response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine rollout.

The six-month contract with Harris & Harris, a Chicago based consulting firm, provides the health department with 25 employees to answer calls. The call center, which will be staffed remotely, should be up and running in the next 10 days and is being funded through the CARES Act, county officials said.

There is no question that this is an appropriate way to use these funds, County Board Minority Leader Mike Fricilone, R-Homer Glen, said in a statement.

Tentatively, the contract calls for operators to be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, but those hours may be adjusted to include evening hours and some Saturday hours, said Mitch Schaben, chief of staff for County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant.

5:10 p.m.: Chicago health commissioner says librarians shouldnt get moved up in vaccine line

Chicagos health commissioner on Monday rejected the idea of adding librarians to the ranks of essential workers to get prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine, saying the infection rates arent high enough within that group to justify the move.

After a group of progressive aldermen and union leaders last week called for public library workers to be considered front-line workers and moved up the vaccine line, Dr. Allison Arwady said the stats dont support such a change.

Librarians in particular ... they are the lowest department for cases, honestly, Arwady said. Only city public safety workers, teachers and transit workers are among the latest group of those eligible to get vaccinated, with other city workers still waiting their turn.

4 p.m.: Democrats push to include higher minimum wage as part of $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan

Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would reduce the number of Americans living in poverty and boost wages for millions of Americans while adding to the federal debt and joblessness, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office projects.

The federal deficit would increase by about $54 billion over 10 years under a Democratic proposal to gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15, largely because the higher wages paid to workers, such as those caring for the elderly, would contribute to an increase in federal spending, the estimate found.

Democrats are pushing to include the higher minimum wage as part of their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. House committees this week will begin crafting the legislation along the lines that President Joe Biden has requested, but its unclear whether the minimum wage proposal will make it into the final product. The bill is expected to include another round of direct payments to Americans, an expansion of the child tax credit and aid to states and local governments.

The decision on the minimum wage is a key early test for Biden as he seeks to build public support for his proposal and navigate differences within his own party about how far the COVID-19 legislation should go. Voices on the left like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the author of the wage legislation, want Democrats to fight now for the pay increase, but some moderates are wary, fearing the impact on small businesses during the pandemic.

The report from the Congressional Budget Office cites several positive and negative effects from raising the minimum wage. On the positive, the number of people living in poverty would fall by about 900,000 once the $15 wage is fully in place in 2025. On the negative, the number of people working would decline by about 1.4 million.

3 p.m.: Physicians group asks Pritzker to waive local background check requirements for doctors, nurses who want to volunteer at mass vaccination sites

A Chicago physicians group has asked the governors office to waive requirements that mandate fingerprinting and background checks for licensed health care workers before they can volunteer at mass vaccination sites, according to a letter sent to the office on Friday.

In the letter addressed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Chicago Medical Society said the requirements, set by local governments, are unnecessary for health care workers who are already licensed and in good standing in Illinois, and instead act as barriers for the workers who are trying to lend a hand in the vaccination effort.

Im writing to express our concern about the requirement that licensed physicians and nurses need to be fingerprinted and have their backgrounds checked before administering COVID-19 vaccines at mass vaccination centers, read the letter, signed by the medical societys president, Dr. Tariq Butt, on behalf of about 17,000 area physicians.

The governors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Tribune. The Chicago Medical Society said it has not received a response from the governor, but noted the letter was only sent on Friday.

2 p.m.: The pandemic is making filing taxes complicated: Send us your questions and well ask experts

With tax season nearly underway,2020 filing looks to be more complicated than most years. Illinois residents will see some changes ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic that could affect their returns.

Experts say people should be aware of certain situations, including working in a different state or claiming a stimulus payment, that could affect their tax liability.

12:40 p.m.: Illinois reports 16,110 people received COVID-19 vaccinations on Sunday

Illinois public health officials reported 16,110 vaccinations were administered Sunday, bringing the state total to 1,358,967.

The number of Illinois residents who have been fully vaccinated receiving both of the required two shots reached 299,172. The 7-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 51,794 doses.

Officials Monday reported 1,747 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 35 additional fatalities. The total number of known infections in Illinois is 1,148,088 and the statewide death toll is 19,668.

Mondays new cases resulted from 47,210 tests. The seven-day statewide positivity rate for cases as a share of total tests was 3.3% as of Sunday.

As of Sunday night, 2,161 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 469 patients in intensive care units and 251 patients on ventilators. Jenny Whidden

11:10 a.m.: New variants raise worry about COVID-19 virus reinfections

Evidence is mounting that having COVID-19 may not protect against getting infected again with some of the new variants. People also can get second infections with earlier versions of the coronavirus if they mounted a weak defense the first time, new research suggests.

How long immunity lasts from natural infection is one of the big questions in the pandemic. Scientists still think reinfections are fairly rare and usually less serious than initial ones, but recent developments around the world have raised concerns.

In South Africa, a vaccine study found new infections with a variant in 2% of people who previously had an earlier version of the virus.

In Brazil, several similar cases were documented with a new variant there. Researchers are exploring whether reinfections help explain a recent surge in the city of Manaus, where three-fourths of residents were thought to have been previously infected.

In the United States, a study found that 10% of Marine recruits who had evidence of prior infection and repeatedly tested negative before starting basic training were later infected again. That work was done before the new variants began to spread, said one study leader, Dr. Stuart Sealfon of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Previous infection does not give you a free pass, he said. A substantial risk of reinfection remains.

risti Rubin, a registered nurse from Plainfield, left, gives second-grade teacher Amy Schmidt from Long Beach Elementary School in Montgomery a COVID-19 vaccination Sunday at Yorkville High School. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News)

10:40 a.m.: At Kendall County mass vaccination clinic, people are determined to get the shot

While football fans around the country celebrated Super Bowl Sunday, others like Amy Schmidt of Aurora got ready for the big sports day with a pre-game COVID-19 vaccination.

I ordered a lot of food so I dont have a lot to do at home today, said the second-grade teacher who works at Long Beach Elementary School in Montgomery. I love that Im able to get the vaccine its better than another helping of wings.

Over the weekend, officials from Kendall County rolled out their first mass vaccination clinic at Yorkville High School a two-day affair that included 4,000 inoculations and a volunteer staff of nearly 150 people.

We only learned a week ago we were going to get the vaccine and were able to throw this together in just a week, said Kendall County Health Department Director RaeAnn VanGundy. This has been a major community event thats been done with minimal help and were proud of that.

9:28 a.m.: Coronavirus vaccine rollout leads to frustration, resentment as Americans await their shots

For a vast majority of Americans, a coronavirus vaccine is like sleep for a new parent: Its all you can think about, even if you have no idea when you will get it.

People are scrolling through perpetually crashing websites at 3 a.m., or driving 150 miles each way in the snow. Others are lining up at grocery stores for hours on end, hoping to snag a leftover shot, or racing to hospitals amid rumors of extra doses.

Many more are tossing in bed in the dark, praying that tomorrow will be their mothers lucky day.

A small portion about 11% have received one or two shots of the vaccine, leaving the nation in a medical and cultural interregnum. Some of those with only one shot are in a precarious limbo, in states snarled over second-dose distribution.

8:29 a.m.: Grocery stores see business boom during pandemic, but workers feel forgotten with little extra pay and a long wait for COVID-19 vaccines

The race to distribute vaccines and the emergence of more contagious variants of COVID-19 have put a renewed spotlight on the plight of grocery workers in the United States. The industry has boomed in the past year as Americans have stayed home and avoided restaurants. But in most cases, that has not translated into extra pay for its workers. After Long Beach, California, mandated hazard pay for grocery workers, the grocery giant Kroger responded last week by saying it would close two locations.

And now, even as experts warn people to minimize time spent in grocery stores because of new coronavirus variants, The New York Times found only 13 states that had started specifically vaccinating those workers.

6 a.m.: College instructors question why they should wait longer for shots than Illinois K-12 educators

Under the states vaccination plan, most college instructors wont be eligible to receive COVID-19 inoculations until phase 1c, though their counterparts in primary schools can get the shots now.

That distinction frustrates higher education employees who say faculty and staff with in-person roles must be vaccinated with the same urgency, regardless of what grade level they teach.

With a high likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks at colleges and universities, along with reported community spread associated with these outbreaks, prioritizing higher education faculty and staff for the vaccine is necessary for our students futures and our communities well-being, said John Miller, president of the University Professionals of Illinois, a union representing employees at seven of the states 12 public universities, along with other college workers.

Phase 1c isnt projected to begin until spring at the earliest. But under phase 1b, which started in late January, the state allows for K-12 education workers including teachers, support staff and childcare workers to schedule their doses. The city of Chicago adopted the same guidelines. Still, eligible teachers in the city and suburbs have reported difficulty accessing the vaccine due to limited supply.

Steve Wiley, manager of the Pilsen Food Pantry on South Throop Street in Chicago, puts together items on a client's shopping list on Feb. 4, 2021. The pantry is one of the community partners of the Greater Chicago Food Depository to receive a grant. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

6 a.m.: Four new food pantries to open on Chicagos South and West Sides

Four new food pantries are set to open this spring as part of a major grant from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which is shifting its funding strategy to focus on communities of color disproportionately affected by hunger and poverty.

The food bank, which supplies pantries and charities in Cook County, on Monday announced that it has awarded $2.6 million to 26 community partners, the largest grant amounts it has given in memory.

Four grants are in excess of $200,000 to open new food pantries in the Chicago neighborhoods of Roseland, Englewood and Little Village, plus south suburban Dolton. The rest of the grants, between $25,000 and $75,000, are meant to help existing pantries expand capacity and offer home delivery.

In a departure from usual practice, the organization targeted neighborhoods that it identified as high-need based on rates of food insecurity, poverty, unemployment and COVID-19 infection and mortality. It also looked at race and access to quality food pantries.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, founded 41 years ago, traditionally supported its pantry partners equally and measured impact based on pounds of food distributed, said CEO Kate Maehr. The pandemic, which highlighted the overwhelming need in some communities, prompted it to change its approach.

Stay up to date with the latest information on coronavirus with our breaking news alerts.

Here are some recent stories related to COVID-19.

Continued here:

COVID-19 in Illinois updates: Heres whats happening Monday - Chicago Tribune