Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a mysterious two-week “business curfew” for non-essential businesses starting Friday to slow the spread of CoVID-19 in the nation’s third largest metropolis.
“Starting Friday October 23 at 6:00 a.m., all non-essential businesses will be closed to the public from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. And all liquor sales will stop after 9:00 p.m. Essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants with take-out delivery services are exempt. Lightfoot said she would not hesitate to roll the city back into Phase 3 or a stay-on-place if things get worse,” reports CBS News Chicago.
“We are taking these measures to avoid potential catastrophic impacts. The rapid rise in cases that we’re experiencing here in Chicago is consistent with what we’re seeing, not only across the state, but across the nation, and in many other countries around the world,” Lightfoot said. “COVID-19 thrives in places and in circumstances where people let their guard down. And as the weather cools and people move in indoors, the risk of the spread rises exponentially. That’s why we have been preaching about limiting the size of gatherings, about wearing a mask everywhere, you can, and particularly outside.
“We’re now seeing an uptick again of large groups of people gathering without social distancing and worse, without mask. Some of it, of course, is a misplaced sense that those you know don’t have it. That’s wrong,” she concluded.
Watch Lightfoot’s announcement above.
CHICAGO SPIRALS: 100 People Arrested, 13 Police Injured as Looters Target Windy City’s Tourism District
More than 100 people were arrested overnight Monday and at least 13 officers were injured as hundreds of looters targeted shops in Chicago’s downtown tourism district.
“This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This was an assault on our city.”
“Those arrested were expected to face charges including looting, disorderly conduct, battery against police. Lightfoot said that the city has activated a neighborhood protection program,” reports the Associated Press. “The unrest began shortly after midnight and anti-police graffiti was seen in the area of the Magnificent Mile, which is one of Chicago’s most-visited tourist attractions. Hours earlier, dozens of people had faced off with police after officers shot and wounded a person Sunday in the Englewood neighborhood, located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away.”
Bridges raised in Chicago to prevent downtown access after widespread looting breaks out https://t.co/g8x1YPpW4G pic.twitter.com/lLeVPubknE
— The Hill (@thehill) August 10, 2020
🚨 “LOOTING AND CHAOS” 🚨
Do you feel safer with radical Democrats are in charge? https://t.co/W7XcGw3dRM— Marc Lotter (@marc_lotter) August 10, 2020
Read the full report here.
CHICAGO SPIRALS: 13 People Shot, 3 Murdered Within 24 Hours in the Windy City
The plague of gun violence sweeping Chicago sadly continued this week when 13 people were shot and three murdered within a 24 hour period in the nation’s third largest city.
“Thirteen people were shot, three of them fatally, Wednesday in Chicago. One woman was killed and another was wounded in South Shore in the day’s latest fatal attack. About 8:50 p.m., they were in the 7800 block of South Cornell Avenue when they heard shots and felt pain, Chicago police said,” reports the Chicago Sun Times.
A day earlier, 15 people were shot and 2 killed.
“A 28-year-old was struck in the head and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she died, police said. The other woman, 35, was shot in the foot and refused medical treatment, police said,” adds the newspaper. “Wednesday afternoon, a man was killed in Lawndale on the West Side.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot routinely blames her city’s gun violence on neighboring states and the Trump administration; claiming the President has “no interest” in protecting Chicago residents.
Read the full report here.