Chicago

Staff Report CHICAGO - Gov. J.B. Pritzker added five counties to an existing disaster proclamation Wednesday to aid local jurisdictions in their efforts to keep communities safe. Lake, Peoria, Rock Island, Williamson and Stephenson counties were added to the edict because they represent a threat for looting or destruction through planned protests. To date, 15 counties are included in the current disaster proclamation. Pritzker activated 375 Illinois National Guard soldiers Sunday to…

Staff Report CHICAGO - Illinois Gov.  J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed a disaster proclamation for nine counties in Illinois to expedite the use of state resources, personnel and equipment to help municipalities keep residents safe from looters and rioters. The counties include Champaign, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Macon, Madison, Sangamon and Will. The Governor also activated an additional 250 members of the Illinois National Guard to support various jurisdictions throughout the state in…

Staff Report CHICAGO - In response to a City of Chicago request, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, on Sunday, activated 375 Illinois National Guard soldiers to assist the Chicago Police Department in protecting the City of Chicago and its residents. The guard will carry out a limited mission to help manage street closures and will not interfere with peaceful protestors exercising their First Amendment rights. "At the request of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, I am activating the Illinois National Guard to…

By The Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The coronavirus outbreak has contributed to the closing of Mike Ditka's restaurant on Chicago's Gold Coast. Ditka's Restaurant Group announced Monday that it will permanently close the downtown location because of the ongoing economic impact of the outbreak and the impending end of its lease. "We have made the extremely difficult decision to close our Chicago restaurant due to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the short term left on our lease,"…

By The Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The effort to reduce the population at Cook County Jail to slow the spread of the coronavirus hit another snag when the sheriff announced that he has run out of electronic monitoring bracelets that defendants wear when they're placed on home confinement.  The sheriff's department said Thursday that the lack of the bracelets will mean that defendants who might otherwise have been sent home will have to remain in jail, where hundreds of detainees and…

Staff Report CHICAGO - A federal judge on Monday ordered Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart to implement social-distancing measures for people incarcerated at the county jail. With few exceptions, Judge Matthew Kennelly’s order dictates that people incarcerated in the jail can no longer be housed in the same cell with another person and that most dormitory housing must be stopped. The order also extended its earlier orders requiring the sheriff to ensure sanitation, testing, social distancing at…