The United Center is set to become a mass COVID-19 vaccination site. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file
Residents from across the state eventually will be eligible to register for an appointment there, but sign-ups initially will be limited to people 65 or older.
The center of Chicago’s sports world will become a focal point of its pandemic response March 10 when a mass COVID-19 vaccination site is launched outside the United Center.
About 6,000 shots will be doled out per day when the community vaccination center operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is up and running next month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sen. Dick Durbin.
“The United Center is one of the best locations for vaccinating large numbers of people in America. It’s easy to get to, is in the midst of a medically underserved community, can handle large crowds and is well known to everyone in Illinois,” Pritzker said.
The state’s highest-profile vaccination site will use a combination of drive-thru and temporary walk-up facilities in the parking lot north of the stadium, FEMA officials said.
Residents from across the state eventually will be eligible to register for an appointment there, but sign-ups initially will be limited to people 65 or older.
That’s been a point of contention between Lightfoot and Pritzker, who expanded vaccine eligibility Thursday to include residents 16 and up with chronic health conditions like diabetes. The city and suburban Cook County aren’t yet expanding eligibility yet, arguing the vaccine supply is still too low to add more people to the crowd vying for appointments.
The governor said he’s asked Lightfoot and Preckwinkle to open up that process, “but I think that the common view is that we want to get as many people vaccinated as possible, as soon as possible.”
Pat Nabong/Sun-TimesMayor Lori Lightfoot (center) and Gov. J.B. Pritzker (right) appear at a Friday news conference in the Loop.
Lightfoot called it “our SOS moment: support our seniors.”
“We need moms, dads, grandma grandpas, your neighbor, your auntie, your mother’s cousin — anybody who can lend a hand to our seniors, we need to get them there, and we need to get them vaccinated,” Lightfoot said.
Ride-hailing giant Uber announced it’ll provide 20,000 free rides to get residents to and from the site, with a focus on South and West side residents.
Vaccine shipments for the United Center will come to the city separate from Chicago’s weekly allotments it receives from the federal government.
So far, the state has received about 3.2 million doses since December and about 2.5 million of those shots have gone into arms, but only 725,464 people have received both required doses — about 5.7% of the population.
Almost 103,000 shots were given statewide Thursday, the second-highest one-day total ever. Pritzker said he expects those daily numbers to shoot up as supply improves with a third vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson nearing approval.
The so-called “major community vaccination center” planned for the United Center is one of a handful of pilot locations being set up by the feds across the nation. According to the White House, the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks was chosen because almost 3 million people live within a 30-minute drive time, and it’s close to many communities of color that have borne a disproportionate brunt of the pandemic.
Pritzker said more information about registration for the United Center site would be released over the next two weeks.
Fans haven’t been in the stadium in nearly a year, but it’s already played a key role in the regional pandemic response. The United Center served as a pandemic logistics hub last spring, storing more than 387 tons of donated food.
Courtesy of United CenterThe United Center, pictured last April, when it served as a food storage site.
Jerry Reinsdorf and Rocky Wirtz, who own the teams who play at the United Center and chair the stadium’s joint venture, said in a statement, “It is our hope that by partnering with FEMA to create a mass vaccination center, we are one step closer to putting this pandemic behind us. We are grateful for the dedication of our United Center professionals and our incredibly supportive vendors and partners to help turn these plans into a reality.”
The Bulls returned to the floor at the UC in mid-December, and the Blackhawks resumed play in early January.
There’s still no timetable for when — or if — fans might be able to attend games again, but city leaders are preparing for at least some large-scale summer events elsewhere in Chicago.
“Whether or not we have a summer that looks more like 2019 as opposed to 2020 is going to be wholly dependent upon where we are in the arc of the virus,” Lightfoot said.
That arc has looked promising over the past month. The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 2,441 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed among 92,256 tests, keeping the state’s average positivity rate at a nearly eight-month low of 2.5%. Chicago’s regional infection rate (2.9%) is as low as it’s been since the virus first surfaced.
The state also reported 55 more COVID-19 deaths, including five Cook County residents in their 40s. Overall, the state’s daily COVID-19 death rate has sunk from 113 at the start of the year, to now roughly 38 per day.
Nearly 1.2 million Illinoisans have been infected since last March, and 20,460 of them have died.
Young’s Matt Sommerville (25) goes to the basket through Mount Carmel’s defense. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times
The weekend forecast includes six of the best games to keep an eye on this weekend.
Last weekend, highlighted by the dramatic Notre Dame win over Fenwick, was a good one. My quick 5-0 start in the Weekend Forecast business has me feeling good in this snap of a season.
This weekend has several pivotal conference showdowns, including one that could determine a league title and tournament berth in the season-ending Chipotle Clash of Champions in March. That would be the battle of unbeatens –– Glenbrook South and Evanston –– in the Central Suburban League South.
In addition, Mundelein can take a big step towards its first conference championship since 1994, Brother Rice can show it’s more than just a surprise in the Catholic League and two Public League teams, Clark and North Lawndale, tip off their season in style in a matchup of ranked teams.
Here is the Weekend Forecast with a half dozen picks.
Friday
Fenwick (7-1) at Brother Rice (6-0), 7 p.m.
Unbeaten Brother Rice impressed in a win over St. Ignatius and hopes to play the roll of the surprise Catholic League team. With the ball in the hands of impactful point guard Ahmad Henderson, the Crusaders can be that team. The 5-8 Henderson is surrounded by 6-7 Luke Moustakas, shooter Garrett Greene and tough, hard-nosed Cullen Cosme.
Everyone knows Fenwick has the star in Bryce Hopkins. The Kentucky-bound recruit can manhandle just about anyone, especially now that junior David Gieser is back to space the floor for the Friars with his outstanding shooting ability. The combination is difficult to defend.
The pick: Fenwick 64, Brother Rice 57
Lake Forest (8-1) at Mundelein (8-1), 7:30 p.m.
It’s a first-place battle in the North Suburban Conference –– and Stevenson isn’t a part of it.
League favorite Mundelein lost to Lake Forest in its season opener earlier this month, falling 71-60 with big man Scottie Ebube sidelined. But it wasn’t considered a league game. Ebube, a Southern Illinois recruit, is back and has been very productive since. Drake recruit Conor Enright and Trey Baker are a pair of offensive-minded guards.
Lake Forest’s Walt Mattingly, who played last year at Deerfield, scored 19 points in the first matchup between these two, while tough and steady senior Jack Malloy scored 20. That senior combo, along with the shooting and scoring prowess of 6-6 sophomore Asa Thomas, has the Scouts as a legit conference title contender. Keep an eye on talented freshman Tommy Aberle.
Mundelein gets its revenge and the all-important conference win.
The pick: Mundelein 65, Lake Forest 60
Clark (0-0) at North Lawndale (0-0) , 7 p.m.
Terry Head has elevated the Clark program since his arrival as head coach in 2017. He’s brought energy to the program and has guided the Eagles to a pair of Class 2A regional titles the past three years.
But now Clark gets a taste of an upper-division battle in the Public League’s Red-West/North.
From a personnel standpoint, the battle in the backcourt will be one to watch. Clark has a scorer in junior guard Darrius Perryman, who knocked down 63 three-pointers last year as a sophomore, who is set to make a name for himself. Senior Michael Hardges, who led the team in rebounding and is a defensive warrior, also returns for a fourth varsity season.
Plus, Head welcomes Mikell Jones and Miquwon Jones, a pair of 6-3 guards who have transferred in from Farragut. They are seasoned juniors who have been through the rigors of the Public League’s Red-West/North.
North Lawndale is young and dangerous. They counter with a dynamite perimeter attack. While 6-2 senior guard Daequan Davis is the team’s returning leading scorer, the excitement surrounding the sophomore guard tandem of Ronald Chambers and Damarion Wyatt is building.
When you add 6-4 athletic dynamo Larry Johnson to the mix, North Lawndale is a big city sleeper.
A season opener for both could prove to show plenty of rust.
The pick: North Lawndale 69, Clark 64
Saturday
Evanston (8-0) at Glenbrook South (10-0), 2 p.m.
This is the second of a back-to-back, so what happens on Friday will matter as these two tee it up in what could decide the Central Suburban League South title –– and a trip to the Chipotle Clash of Champions.
The Evanston reign over the CSL South has included at least a share of the league title in each of the previous six seasons. That’s the longest conference title streak in Evanston basketball history. Star shooting guard Blake Peters has been front and center in each of the past three.
The firepower on the perimeter continues with seniors Isaiah Holden and Elyjah Bull and junior Rashawn Bost.
Perhaps the most unheralded tandem in the Chicago area just might be Glenbrook South’s junior pair of Nick Martinelli and Cooper Noard. The 6-6 Martinelli averages 23.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. In addition to being a major threat from beyond the arc, where Noard is shooting 43 percent, the 6-0 guard is putting up 17.9 points.
We’re going with a split this weekend –– Evanston wins Friday night; Glenbrook South comes back and wins a squeaker in the quick turnaround rematch on Saturday.
The pick: Glenbrook South 60, Evanston 58
Hersey (8-2) at Fremd (6-1) , 7:30 p.m.
Fremd will do what it does under coach Bob Widlowski: defend, control tempo and limit Hersey’s opportunities. The Vikings have only given up more than 44 points in a game once in seven games.
With space-eating Jack Walsh inside and the guard trio of juniors Eli Schoffstall and Chris Smyros and sophomore Ryan Sammons, a balanced Fremd should be able to control the pace of the game.
Hersey, meanwhile, has averaged 70 points a game since its opening-season loss to Glenbrook South. And it’s been a pretty simple formula: Put the ball in the hands of Ethan Roberts, the high-scoring senior guard who has been brilliant thus far this season.
The supporting cast has also done its job, whether it’s point guard Andrew Wagner, agile 6-7 big man Ben Randall or versatile 6-5 wing Griffin Ginder.
Hersey, which boasts more firepower and experience, ekes out a win.
The pick: Hersey 53, Fremd 50
Young (3-0) at Thornton (2-1), noon
The immediate highlight is a Chicago Public League giant like Young traveling to Harvey to play a perennial power in that great, historic gym.
The state’s top junior prospect, 6-8 AJ Casey, is the big name that garners a lot of attention for Young. Casey is capable of doing things others simply can’t with his size, length and skill. But Grant Newell, an uncommitted 6-7 talent, and guard Jaehshon Thomas are set to make the most of their senior campaign. The emerging Xavier Amos is one to watch for the Dolphins.
Thornton is led by 6-3 senior Brandon Hall, an East Tennessee State recruit who is a strong, athletic, downhill guard with size. But the Wildcats will be without point guard Sean Burress, an unheralded player who is a significant loss.
A center of Chicago’s sports world will become a focal point of its pandemic response March 10 when a mass COVID-19 vaccination site will be launched at the United Center.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the site Friday with Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
“The United Center is one of the best locations for vaccinating large numbers of people in America: It’s easy to get to, is in the midst of a medically underserved community, can handle large crowds and is well known to everyone in Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Thanks to FEMA, the United Center is just our most recent among a growing number of state-supported mass vaccination location for residents.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to launch the site and begin giving out shots in about two weeks, White House COVID-19 Task Force senior adviser Andy Slavitt said during a separate news briefing.
It’ll have the capacity to vaccinate about 6,000 people per day, Slavitt said.
News of the state’s highest-profile vaccination site leaked Thursday. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat whose 8th District includes portions of Chicago’s West Side, said appointments at the site will initially be limited to people over 65.
12:20 p.m. A Chicago summer? CPD is planning for it
With vaccinations surging and coronavirus cases dropping, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has asked the Chicago Police Department to prepare security plans for large-scale summer events.
The discussion about police preparations for a return to some sense of normalcy in Chicago this summer came up this week during the mayor’s regular “accountability” meeting with top police brass.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Don Terry refused to say what types of major events the mayor is contemplating. He would only say that CPD is “preparing for the summer for things to open, if they open up.”
“If we continue on this path, with people being vaccinated and the infection rate going down — and if the city opens up — we’re gonna be prepared for what happens in the summer in Chicago,” Terry said Friday.
11:40 a.m. House to vote on virus bill; arbiter says wage hike a no-go
WASHINGTON — Democrats are ready to shove a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package through the House on Friday, despite a setback that means a minimum wage boost is unlikely to be in the final version that reaches President Joe Biden.
A near party-line vote seemed certain on the measure, Biden’s first crack at his initial legislative goal of acting decisively against the pandemic. In the year since the coronavirus has taken hold, it has stalled much of the economy, killed half a million Americans and reshaped the daily lives of virtually everyone.
The relief bill would provide millions of people with $1,400 direct payments. It contains billions of dollars for vaccines and COVID-19 testing, schools, state and local governments, the ailing restaurant and airline industries and emergency jobless benefits while providing tax breaks to lower earners and families with children.
10:40 a.m. How parents can manage kids’ screen time as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Edwards’ two kids were on a limited screen-time budget. After they got home from school and through their after-school routine, they would get maybe an hour or two a day.
When the pandemic started, Edwards worked from home while the kids’ school was closed, eventually transitioning to online learning. Limits on screen time were tossed out.
Now, her kids’ schools have reopened, and they’ve returned to some of their normal routines. But Edwards, who lives in St. Augustine, Florida, says returning to those screen-time limits has “been like trying to put the toothpaste back in the bottle. The kids have gotten so used to being occupied by their screens that it is now a struggle to get them off the screens.”
COVID-19 led to school closings, which also meant disrupting after-school activities including team sports. Quarantining pushed parents working remotely to relax screen-time rules as they juggled jobs and their kids’ online schooling.
9:46 a.m. Biden marks 50M vaccine doses in first 5 weeks in office
Days after marking a solemn milestone in the pandemic, President Joe Biden is celebrating the pace of his efforts to end it.
On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since his swearing-in. The moment came days after the nation reached the devastating milestone of 500,000 coronavirus deaths and ahead of a meeting with the nation’s governors on plans to speed the distribution even further.
“The more people get vaccinated, the faster we’re going to beat this pandemic,” Biden said at the White House ceremony, noting that his administration is on course to exceed his promise to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.
“We’re halfway there: 50 million shots in 37 days,” Biden said. “That’s weeks ahead of schedule.”
We spend so much time complaining about wearing it, we might not have noticed how much the mask has come to define the past year, physically, emotionally and, yes, visually.
But Phil Gayter, artist and ad man, has noticed, and is painting a series of masked portraits.
“I decided to do a self-portrait, painting myself with bright yellow gloves and an N95 mask. That was the start,” said Gayter, who lives in Highland Park. “It was going to be a one-off. As the pandemic was setting in, I was spending more and more time at home, I had my daughter over, and I did a portrait of her in a mask.”
Artists tend to work in themes — blue periods, haystacks series and such. Gayter saw potential in the masked subject.
“All of a sudden I thought something’s going on here that I really, really like,” he said. “A coming together of myself as an artist and a business thinker, coming up with an idea that holds together. That’s what I do for my clients, create branded messages. The mask proved to be that point of distinction, allowing me to think of a collection of paintings that capture the moment, poignant yet whimsical.”
Illinois logged 1,884 new cases Wednesday which were diagnosed among 91,292 tests to lower the seven-day average statewide positivity rate to 2.5%, officials announced Thursday. Chicago’s regional rate is down to 3%. Both those figures soared past 13% in the worst days of the crisis last fall.
The state also reported 32 more COVID-19 deaths, including that of a Cook County man in his 20s. Illinois is still averaging 40 deaths per day, but that rate has shrunk almost in half over the past month.
The White Sox agreed to terms with Cuban pitcher prospect Norge Vera. | Chicago White Sox
Vera, 20, is rated as the No. 15 international prospect by MLB Pipeline.
The White Sox and Cuban right-handed pitcher Norge Vera agreed to terms on Friday. Vera will receive a $1.5 million signing bonus.
The club also signed outfielder/first baseman Darío Borrero, right-handers Adrián Gil and Carlos Hinestroza, catcher Manuel Guarimán, outfielder Carlos Jiménez and third baseman Víctor Quezada.
Vera, 20, is rated as the No. 15 international prospect by MLB Pipeline. He played one season (2018-19) for Santiago de Cuba in the Cuban National Series, Cuba’s top-level league, going 2-3 with a 3.79 ERA, one complete game, one shutout and 37 strikeouts in 11 starts.
The Vera signing comes a month after the Sox announced the signing of Cuban outfielder Yoelqui Cespedes, who is rated the No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
“I am thrilled with the talent we were able to add to the organization during this international signing period,” said Marco Paddy, White Sox special assistant to the general manager – international operations. “It was highlighted with the signings of Yoelqui Céspedes and Norge Vera — a right-handed pitcher with an outstanding fastball and who has shown promising secondary pitches — and capped off with six talented young players.”
The other players joining the Sox system:
Borrero, 17, is a native of Valencia, Venezuela. The 6-foot-5, 198-pound outfielder/first baseman bats and throws left-handed.
Gil, 17, a native of Barcelona, Venezuela, is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed pitcher.
Hinestroza, 18, is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound right hander. He is a native of Panamá, Panama.
Guarimán, 17, is a native of Barcelona, Venezuela. The 6-foot, 190-pound catcher throws and bats right-handed.
Jiménez, 19, is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound outfielder. The Panamá, Panama native throws and bats left-handed.
Quezada, 17, is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic The 6-foot-1, 185-pound third baseman throws and bats right-handed.
The Chicago Police Department is planning for summer festivals and other events in case pandemic rules are eased. | Sun-Times file photo
The Chicago Police Department refused to say what types of major events Mayor Lightfoot is contemplating.
With vaccinations surging and coronavirus cases dropping, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has asked the Chicago Police Department to prepare security plans for large-scale summer events.
The discussion about police preparations for a return to some sense of normalcy in Chicago this summer came up this week during the mayor’s regular “accountability” meeting with top police brass.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Don Terry refused to say what types of major events the mayor is contemplating. He would only say that CPD is “preparing for the summer for things to open, if they open up.”
“If we continue on this path, with people being vaccinated and the infection rate going down — and if the city opens up — we’re gonna be prepared for what happens in the summer in Chicago,” Terry said Friday.
“We’re gonna be prepared for however much the city is able to open up. We’ll be prepared. We’ll be practicing.”
Summer in Chicago normally means Cubs and Sox games with fans in the stands at Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field. It means Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago, July 3rd fireworks at Navy Pier and a host of neighborhood festivals.
Terry refused to say which of those events Lightfoot asked CPD to prepare for or at what crowd levels.
He would only say, “We’ll be prepared for whatever comes our way. That’s all I’m gonna say for now. If you want particulars of what the mayor thinks is gonna happen, that has to come from City Hall. I’m not telling you that. Ask that of the mayor.”
Lightfoot talked about the possibility of holding large summer events after joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a news conference to announce that the United Center would be used as a mass vaccination site.
“Summer comes to Chicago. So we want to make sure that we’re prepared for any eventuality,” Lightfoot said. “But whether or not we have a summer that looks more like 2019 as opposed to 2020 is gonna be wholly dependent on where we are in the arc of the virus. But obviously, we want to make sure that if we keep trending in the direction that we’re trending, that we’re prepared to open up the city.”
“Obviously, our numbers are looking very good. We’re at the lowest number of positivity, for example, that we’ve been since the start of this pandemic.”
Last summer, the Cubs devised strict protocols they believed would allow as many as 7,000 fans to safely attend games at Wrigley. It called for fans in groups of two, four and six with designated gates and staggered entry and exit windows.
At the time, Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney told the Chicago Sun-Times the Cubs were eager to test their limited capacity plan to “see how the ballpark operates with those rules,” he said.
Time ran out before the city and Major League Baseball could approve the plan. And after winning their division, the Cubs were swept by the Marlins in the first round of the playoffs.
Three months later, Lightfoot said the Bears had presented the city with a plan detailed enough to make her comfortable that fans could safely return to the stands at Soldier Field. But the mayor said she would only allow it when Chicago’s “health metrics” started “trending in a very different direction.”
”I hope that we can get there. I’m a multi-decade Bears fan. And it is different watching it remotely than being in the stadium,” Lightfoot said then.
The week before the mayor made those comments, the Bears had defeated the Carolina Panthers before more than 5,100 fans in Charlotte.
At the time, The Panthers were one of 15 NFL teams playing their home games with fans in the stands.
The Dallas Cowboys topped the list with an average attendance of 24,262 fans, or 24.3% of capacity. That’s followed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 15,058 fans or 22.2%; the Kansas City Chiefs, 13,978 people or 18.3%; the Houston Texans, 12,257 fans or 17%; and the Miami Dolphins, 11,405 people or 17%.
After saxophonist Archie Shepp became known in the 1960s as a fierce musical and political voice in what was then called the avant-garde, he charted a different path. In 1977, Shepp recorded a collection of traditional spirituals (and one jazz standard) in a duet session with pianist Horace Parlan titled Goin’ Home, which is as reverential as his earlier records are fervent.…Read More
A center of Chicago’s sports world will become a focal point of its pandemic response March 10 when a mass COVID-19 vaccination site will be launched at the United Center.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the site Friday with Mayor Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
“The United Center is one of the best locations for vaccinating large numbers of people in America: It’s easy to get to, is in the midst of a medically underserved community, can handle large crowds and is well known to everyone in Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Thanks to FEMA, the United Center is just our most recent among a growing number of state-supported mass vaccination location for residents.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to launch the site and begin giving out shots in about two weeks, White House COVID-19 Task Force senior adviser Andy Slavitt said during a separate news briefing.
It’ll have the capacity to vaccinate about 6,000 people per day, Slavitt said.
News of the state’s highest-profile vaccination site leaked Thursday. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat whose 8th District includes portions of Chicago’s West Side, said appointments at the site will initially be limited to people over 65.
10:40 a.m. How parents can manage kids’ screen time as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Edwards’ two kids were on a limited screen-time budget. After they got home from school and through their after-school routine, they would get maybe an hour or two a day.
When the pandemic started, Edwards worked from home while the kids’ school was closed, eventually transitioning to online learning. Limits on screen time were tossed out.
Now, her kids’ schools have reopened, and they’ve returned to some of their normal routines. But Edwards, who lives in St. Augustine, Florida, says returning to those screen-time limits has “been like trying to put the toothpaste back in the bottle. The kids have gotten so used to being occupied by their screens that it is now a struggle to get them off the screens.”
COVID-19 led to school closings, which also meant disrupting after-school activities including team sports. Quarantining pushed parents working remotely to relax screen-time rules as they juggled jobs and their kids’ online schooling.
9:46 a.m. Biden marks 50M vaccine doses in first 5 weeks in office
Days after marking a solemn milestone in the pandemic, President Joe Biden is celebrating the pace of his efforts to end it.
On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since his swearing-in. The moment came days after the nation reached the devastating milestone of 500,000 coronavirus deaths and ahead of a meeting with the nation’s governors on plans to speed the distribution even further.
“The more people get vaccinated, the faster we’re going to beat this pandemic,” Biden said at the White House ceremony, noting that his administration is on course to exceed his promise to deliver 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office.
“We’re halfway there: 50 million shots in 37 days,” Biden said. “That’s weeks ahead of schedule.”
We spend so much time complaining about wearing it, we might not have noticed how much the mask has come to define the past year, physically, emotionally and, yes, visually.
But Phil Gayter, artist and ad man, has noticed, and is painting a series of masked portraits.
“I decided to do a self-portrait, painting myself with bright yellow gloves and an N95 mask. That was the start,” said Gayter, who lives in Highland Park. “It was going to be a one-off. As the pandemic was setting in, I was spending more and more time at home, I had my daughter over, and I did a portrait of her in a mask.”
Artists tend to work in themes — blue periods, haystacks series and such. Gayter saw potential in the masked subject.
“All of a sudden I thought something’s going on here that I really, really like,” he said. “A coming together of myself as an artist and a business thinker, coming up with an idea that holds together. That’s what I do for my clients, create branded messages. The mask proved to be that point of distinction, allowing me to think of a collection of paintings that capture the moment, poignant yet whimsical.”
Illinois logged 1,884 new cases Wednesday which were diagnosed among 91,292 tests to lower the seven-day average statewide positivity rate to 2.5%, officials announced Thursday. Chicago’s regional rate is down to 3%. Both those figures soared past 13% in the worst days of the crisis last fall.
The state also reported 32 more COVID-19 deaths, including that of a Cook County man in his 20s. Illinois is still averaging 40 deaths per day, but that rate has shrunk almost in half over the past month.
In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, Trump supporters gather outside the Capitol in Washington. A faction of local, county and state Republican officials across the country is pushing lies, misinformation and conspiracy theories online that echo those that helped inspire the violent Capitol insurrection, forcing the GOP into an internal reckoning. | AP
The Associated Press reviewed public and private social media accounts of nearly 1,000 federal, state, and local elected and appointed Republican officials nationwide, many of whom have voiced support for the Jan. 6 insurrection or demanded that the 2020 presidential election be overturned, sometimes in deleted posts or now-removed online forums.
A faction of local, county and state Republican officials is pushing lies, misinformation and conspiracy theories that echo those that helped inspire the violent U.S. Capitol siege, online messaging that is spreading quickly through GOP ranks fueled by algorithms that boost extreme content.
The Associated Press reviewed public and private social media accounts of nearly 1,000 federal, state, and local elected and appointed Republican officials nationwide, many of whom have voiced support for the Jan. 6 insurrection or demanded that the 2020 presidential election be overturned, sometimes in deleted posts or now-removed online forums.
“Sham-peachment,” they say, and warn that “corporate America helped rig the election.” They call former president Donald Trump a “savior” who was robbed of a second term — despite no evidence — and President Joe Biden, a “thief.” “Patriots want answers,” they declare.
The bitter, combative rhetoric is helping the officials grow their constituencies on social media and gain outsized influence in their communities, city councils, county boards and state assemblies. And it exposes the GOP’s internal struggle over whether the party can include traditional conservative politicians, conspiracy theorists and militias as it builds its base for 2022.
Earlier this month, the FBI knocked on the door of the Republican Women’s Federation of Michigan vice president Londa Gatt to ask where she was on the day of the Capitol attack.
Gatt, a Bikers for Trump coordinator who roars, leather-vested, alongside political rallies on her Harley-Davidson, had helped organize busloads of Trump supporters to join her in Washington on Jan. 6. She says she climbed the scaffolding outside the Capitol building that day “to take a picture of the whole view.” And she said she gladly told FBI agents that she did nothing wrong, and left the scene right away as things turned violent.
Since then, Gatt has shared hashtags tied to QAnon conspiracy theories online and posted that she has Trump’s personal email. She recently asked her Facebook friends who participated in Capitol intrusions to send messages directly to Trump explaining that he didn’t incite them, but instead they acted of their own volition. “The lawyers need our help,” she posted.
Gatt is among many conservatives organizing on Twitter, Facebook, Parler, Gab and Telegram, and is working on a digital strategy going forward under different monikers.
“We were cheated out of our legit president and we have no voice because our vote didn’t count,” she told The Associated Press. “I’m getting ready to start opening up some new pages, focus on getting out people who voted against Trump and replace those with conservative Republicans.”
Although Democrats have also used incendiary and aggressive language online, AP focused its research on the GOP because court documents show the overwhelming number of people arrested in association with the Capitol insurrection are longtime supporters of Trump, who has a huge Republican fan base even after leaving office.
Working with Deep Discovery, an artificial intelligence company, AP also helped build a classification algorithm that matched officials to accounts on the right-wing aligned Parler, a social media platform that recently returned after being taken offline for several weeks. AP reporters hand-verified each match using an archived Parler dataset. That archive of 183 million posts and 13 million user profiles, provided in advance of publication by New York University researcher Max Aliopoulios, was captured between August 2018 and Jan. 10, 2021, when Parler was taken offline.
AP also surveyed officials’ use of alternate social media sites such as Gab and Telegram, whose active users have soared in recent weeks since Twitter and Facebook barred people from posting extremist content and disinformation.
The AP reached out to GOP officials in many states, and sought comment from those named in this story. Several posted portions of email exchanges with the reporters or discussed the interviews on their social media.
Collectively, state and local Republican officials like Gatt play a major role in shaping the party’s future, in part because they recruit and promote candidates to run for office and help control the party’s messaging.
Even after the bloody insurrection at the Capitol showed the deadly consequences of online ire, many Republicans continue their furious push to delegitimize the new administration. Experts say it’s more dangerous, and influential, when those messages come from elected and appointed GOP officials rather than anonymous gadflies.
“We still have people in this country talking about civil war. I’m talking about high-ranking officials in state governments and elsewhere, talking about civil war, talking about secession, talking about loading up with ammunition,” Brian Michael Jenkins, a terrorism expert and adviser at the RAND Corp. think tank, recently told Congress.
Republican National Committee press secretary Mandi Merritt didn’t answer AP’s specific questions about the online rhetoric but referred to a Jan. 13 statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: “Violence has no place in our politics. Period.”
Last week, Idaho’s Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chairman Brent Regan posted on Facebook: “People who DON’T own a gun should register and pay a fee. Per the Idaho Constitution Article 14 Section 1, all able bodied males between the ages of 18 and 45 are part of the militia and should arm themselves … That is the LAW.”
That posting followed Regan’s online messaging in early December, when he boosted a Parler post on his feed: “SIDNEY POWELL’S “KRAKEN” IS DOD CYBER WARFARE PROGRAM! WE ARE AT WAR! – THE MARSHALL REPORT.” Powell, a lawyer who held rallies in support of Trump, referred to her legal strategy as “the kraken,” powerful enough to destroy Biden’s presidency. However, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a handful of cases related to the 2020 election filed by Trump and his allies in five states.
Another recent Regan Facebook post: “The thing I object most about democrats is that they incite my base instincts to retaliate in kind.”
When AP asked about his posts, Regan said: “My message on social media, print media, and in person is consistent: ‘Pray for serenity. Be the eye of the storm. Stay calm. Think clearly. Don’t panic. Stay peaceful while demanding integrity and honesty.’”
On Jan. 5, Idaho RNC delegate Doyle Beck, who sits with Regan on the board of a libertarian policy group called the Idaho Freedom Foundation, arrived in Washington where he posted a photo of himself on Facebook with Donald Trump Jr., commenting “TRUMP 2020, Stop the Steal.”
Beck told AP he went to a meeting at Trump International Hotel that night with Trump Jr., Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Trump adviser Peter Navarro and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and attended the Trump rally the next day but stayed far from the Capitol building.
AP confirmed that Trump Jr. and Tuberville attended the gathering. Navarro denied attending, and Giuliani said he couldn’t remember and would need to check his diary.
On Feb. 2, Beck reposted on Facebook a statement reading: “Why Would You Have To Impeach A President That Lost? Unless Of Course He Didn’t. Then You’d Have To Silence Him. Oh, Wait….”
More than a month after the insurrection, Beck told AP he believes the election was stolen, and that he might switch to Parler because he thinks his posts are being censored on Facebook.
“Parler is honest,” he said. “They don’t try to do this fact check bullcrap.”
Some Republican officials are posting theories related to QAnon, which the FBI has called a domestic terrorism threat. And the Department of Homeland Security has warned of the potential for lingering violence from extremists enraged by Biden’s election and emboldened by the Capitol attack. But even as Twitter, Facebook and others are rapidly removing, freezing and suspending accounts, the clamor continues.
Two days after he joined the Capitol attack, Sacramento, California, Republican Assembly President Jorge Riley, posted on Facebook: “I won’t say I stood by. Come take my life. I’m right here.” Then he posted his home address, according to court documents, followed by “You all will die.”
Riley was subsequently forced to resign and arrested for his involvement in the insurrection. Riley and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Experts warn that if left unchecked, this type of rhetoric could again incite violence.
“What I care about is the potential loss of life, and preventing what appears to be a pretty massive extremist movement that is growing right now,” said Elizabeth Neumann, who was an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security under Trump. “The only way to stop this, aside from law enforcement, is to get the GOP to acknowledge how they have contributed to its growth and get them to speak out about it. Things cannot continue this way.”
Many GOP officials told AP that Democrats and the media are ignoring, demeaning or even mocking millions of Americans’ legitimate concerns about the election outcome, rather than seriously engaging with them. And they pointed to angry posts from Democrats they said had led to dangerous and costly consequences.
Some of the GOP officials AP surveyed have tempered their online speech in the past month since social media platforms began banning accounts more aggressively and the FBI ramped up investigations tied to Jan. 6.
Still, a rift is opening in some local Republican circles as those who embrace disinformation about election fraud clash with those who recognize Biden’s win.
Following Trump’s acquittal in his second impeachment trial, Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s top Republican, called the claims that the former president won the election “wild myths” and said the insurrection was “a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole” online, laying the blame at Trump’s feet.
Couy Griffin, a commissioner in Otero County, New Mexico, founded the group Cowboys for Trump, and shows up at rallies on horseback, waving a large American flag. Griffin entered the Capitol grounds Jan. 6, then kept posting on Parler about his support for continuing the fight for Trump. When he got back to New Mexico, he told his fellow county commissioners that he planned to bring his “.357 Henry big boy rifle” and “.357 single action revolver” to the inauguration Jan. 20, according to court documents.
Griffin was arrested near a security checkpoint in Washington before the inauguration and is charged with entering a Secret Service-restricted area without permission. The Republican Party of New Mexico has distanced itself from Griffin, and a recall effort is underway. Griffin told AP he didn’t bring guns to DC but he will protect himself.
“I’m not going to be threatened and harassed and bullied,” Griffin told AP in an interview. “There’s many of us who will continue to take a stand for our freedom and continue to raise our voices and demand that our voices be heard.”
Others have faced political consequences.
Hours before Parler was taken offline on Jan. 10, Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase posted an image she said was from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s laptop. “Make no mistake,” posted Chase. “The 2020 Presidential Election was stolen by the Democratic Party with the help of our enemies. She’s the traitor and leader of the insurrection and coup against the USA.”
Chase, who is seeking this year’s GOP nomination for Virginia governor and was at the Jan. 6 rally but said she did not go to the Capitol building, has been censured by the Virginia Senate for an alleged “pattern of unacceptable conduct” and is suing.
In a phone call, Chase initially said the post calling Pelosi a traitor didn’t sound familiar and could have been the work of an imposter. But after the AP emailed her a link of an archived webpage, Chase confirmed it was indeed her post, and said she “stands by it.”
“It’s my free speech right. I can say all day long that the election was stolen, that’s my right to believe that,” Chase said. “And for the press, or for other people to try and cancel the free speech of others who have that opinion is un-American.”
About two-thirds of Republicans say — contrary to all evidence — that Biden was not legitimately elected president, according to a recent poll by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Free speech advocates say the legal definition of inciting violence is extremely narrow, and over-policing online posts, including those spreading misinformation, could undermine democracy.
“We need to be very careful about not painting with an overly broad brush what incitement to violence is, because it’s going to have serious consequences if we allow that exception to get wider,” said Nora Pelizzari, spokeswoman for the National Coalition Against Censorship. “We can’t allow anger at people in power to become punishable.”
AP found plenty of anger. Parler posts containing the word “revolution” increased five times faster than the overall rate of message traffic after the election, the analysis found. Also, about 84% of posts referring to the hashtag “#1776″ occurred on or after Election Day, according to AP’s analysis. Post-election references to “treason” and the QAnon slogan “trust the plan” both increased by about 10 times the overall rate, the data showed.
Republican Ryan Kelley, a planning commissioner in Allendale Township, Michigan, recently announced he’s running for governor and started organizing for his campaign on Telegram, saying “the funny biz in the 2020 election that the left brushed under the rug.. Patriots want answers,” and pledging to watch a conspiracy theory video pushing Trump’s claims of election fraud.
Kelley had made headlines last spring after he organized a protest in Michigan’s Capitol, inviting heavily armed militiamen who crowded into the Lansing statehouse. Over the summer, he posted an article about the Michigan Liberty Militia on Parler saying, “Love seeing our Militia highlighted and shown as the good guys they are. #militia” Two members of that group later were charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. On Jan. 6, Kelley went to the U.S. Capitol but says he was only outside.
Kelley told AP that militia members are “law abiding, lawful citizens that love this country, and maybe you get a couple of them that are bad apples. Question for you is, are bad apples pretty much in everything that we have as far as groups?”
As for his social media use in general he said, “Somebody might look at my posts and think oppositely, think, ‘Oh wow, I’m offended by that,’ or, ‘Oh, man, I feel intimidated by that.’ I might look at somebody else’s posts that take oppositely of me and think similar things,” he said. “The question is, No. 1, is any of them unlawful?”
He said he’s simply looking to open conversations with his posts.
New Hampshire state Republican Rep. Terry Roy also continues to push the theory that Biden is not the legitimate winner of November’s election.
“THIS guy won 80 million votes? Not in this universe,” he posted on the social media platform Gab earlier this month. “I’m busy trying to keep New Hampshire free during the day and preparing for Red Dawn by night.” In the 1984 movie “Red Dawn,” American teenagers fought Russian invaders.
Roy joined Gab last month, uploading an introductory post showing himself shooting a high-powered bolt-action rifle and displaying a symbol and slogan, “Molon Labe,” favored by gun-rights advocates and some members of the militia group the Oath Keepers. Molon Labe translates to “come and take them.”
He said the symbol is meaningful for Second Amendment supporters, and that extremist groups can’t “hijack” it. He said he referenced “Red Dawn” in part because the film’s premise is that citizens can face a foreign invasion, which echoes his beliefs that Americans should embrace gun rights.
After speaking with AP, Roy asked his Gab followers, “Do ANY of you take anything I have ever said to be a call to initiate violence against the Government or anyone else?” Most who responded said no, though several took the opportunity to share their own views involving right-wing conspiracy theories.
Roy said he’s now more introspective about what he says online.
“I think it does give me a little pause to just make sure and double-check that hyperbole doesn’t run over into encouragement of something that would be illegal,” he said. “I always want to make sure that while trying to fire up my base, I don’t unnecessarily fire up the crazies.”
In Arizona and Illinois, prominent Republicans who refused to support Trump’s bid to overturn the election have been rebuked in recent weeks by the state GOP and a central committee, respectively. Last month, the Texas GOP’s Twitter account urged people to follow the party on “free speech” social media app Gab using the slogan “We are The Storm,” despite its association with the Qanon conspiracy theory.
After the November election, Manhattan, New York, Republican Party chair Andrea Catsimatidis asked on Parler: “Is Joe Biden planning a coup by trying to create his own parallel government?” Earlier this month, she retweeted: “Corporate America helped rig the election.”
Reached by phone, Catsimatidis said she believes it is the duty of political officials to share their opinions and reach as many people as possible.
“Political leaders have influence, and the fact that I have developed a social media following is exactly what you should be doing as a political leader,” she said. “And I want to make sure that I can get information out.”
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Contributing to this report are Associated Press data journalist Camille Fassett in Santa Cruz, California, and AP writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Michael Householder in Detroit; Helen Wieffering in Minneapolis; Avery Yang in Phoenix; Haleluya Hadero in Atlanta; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Michelle Smith in Providence, Rhode Island; and Thalia Beaty in New York.
A man presents his “green passport,” proof that he is vaccinated against the coronavirus, on opening night at the Khan Theater for a performance where all guests were required to show proof of vaccination or full recovery from the virus, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. | AP
Governments say getting vaccinated and having proper documentation will smooth the way to travel, entertainment and other social gatherings in a post-pandemic world. But it also raises the prospect of further dividing the world along the lines of wealth and vaccine access.
TEL AVIV, Israel — Violet light bathed the club stage as 300 people, masked and socially distanced, erupted in gentle applause. For the first time since the pandemic began, Israeli musician Aviv Geffen stepped to his electric piano and began to play for an audience seated right in front of him.
“A miracle is happening here tonight,” Geffen told the crowd.
Still, the reanimating experience Monday night above a shopping mall north of Tel Aviv night was not accessible to everyone. Only people displaying a “green passport” that proved they had been vaccinated or had recovered from COVID-19 could get in.
The highly controlled concert offered a glimpse of a future that many are longing for after months of COVID-19 restrictions. Governments say getting vaccinated and having proper documentation will smooth the way to travel, entertainment and other social gatherings in a post-pandemic world.
But it also raises the prospect of further dividing the world along the lines of wealth and vaccine access, creating ethical and logistical issues that have alarmed decision-makers around the world.
Other governments are watching Israel churn through the world’s fastest vaccination program and grapple with the ethics of using the shots as diplomatic currency and power.
Inside Israel, green passports or badges obtained through an app is the coin of the realm. The country recently reached agreements with Greece and Cyprus to recognize each other’s green badges, and more such tourism-boosting accords are expected.
Anyone unwilling or unable to get the jabs that confer immunity will be “left behind,” said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.
“It’s really the only way forward at the moment,” Geffen said in an interview with The Associated Press.
The checks at the club’s doors, which admitted only those who could prove they are fully vaccinated, allowed at least a semblance of normality.
“People can’t live their lives in the new world without them,” he said. “We must take the vaccines. We must.”
The vaccine is not available to everyone in the world, whether due to supply or cost. And some people don’t want it, for religious or other reasons. In Israel, a country of 9.3 million people, only about half the adult population has received the required two doses.
There is new pressure from the government to encourage vaccinations. Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday passed a law allowing the Health Ministry to disclose information on people who have yet to be vaccinated. Under the policy, names can be released to the ministries of education, labor, social affairs and social services, as well as local governments, “with the purpose of allowing these bodies to encourage people to get vaccinated.”
The government is appealing to the emotional longing for the company of others — in Israel’s storied outdoor markets, at concerts like Geffen’s, and elsewhere.
“With the Green Pass, doors just open for you. You could go out to restaurants, work out at the gym, see a show,” read an announcement on Feb. 21, the day much of the economy reopened after a six-week shutdown.
Then it raised a question at the center of the global quest to conquer the pandemic that has hobbled economies and killed nearly 2.5 million people:
“How to get the pass? Go and get vaccinated right now.”
It’s that simple in Israel, which has enough vaccine to inoculate everyone over 16, although the government has been criticized for sharing only tiny quantities with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week he intends to send excess vaccine to some of the country’s allies. Israel’s attorney general said Thursday night the plan has been frozen while he reviews the legalities.
Most countries don’t have enough vaccine, highlighting the fraught ethical landscape of who can get it and how to lift the burden of COVID-19.
“The core human rights principle is equity and nondiscrimination,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University professor and director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law.
“There’s a huge moral crisis in equity globally because in high income countries like Israel or the United States or the EU countries, we’re likely to get to herd immunity by the end of this year,” he said. “But for many low-income countries, most people won’t be vaccinated for many years. Do we really want to give priority to people who already have so many privileges?”
It’s a question dogging the international community as wealthier countries begin to gain traction against the coronavirus and some of its variants.
Last April, the initiative known as COVAX was formed by the WHO, with the initial goal of getting vaccines to poor countries at roughly the same time shots were being rolled out in rich countries. It has missed that target, and 80% of the 210 million doses administered worldwide have been given in only 10 countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week.
Ghana on Wednesday became the first of 92 countries to get vaccines for free through the initiative. COVAX announced that about 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in the African nation. That’s a fraction of the 2 billion shots the WHO aims to deliver this year.
As those countries begin vaccinations, wealthier nations are starting to talk about “green passport” logistics, security, privacy and policy.
The British government said it is studying the possibility of issuing some kind of “COVID status certification” that could be used by employers and organizers of large events as it prepares to ease lockdown restrictions this year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the policy could cause problems.
“We can’t be discriminatory against people who, for whatever reason, can’t have the vaccine,” he said.
Many countries around Europe are scrambling to develop their own vaccine certification systems to help revive summer travel, generating a risk that different systems won’t work properly across the continent’s borders.
“I think there is huge potential for not working well together,” said Andrew Bud, CEO of facial biometrics company iProov, which is testing its digital vaccination passport technology within the U.K.’s National Health Service.
But the technical knots around vaccine passports may be the easier ones to solve, he said.
The bigger challenges “are principally ethical, social, political and legal. How to balance the fundamental rights of citizens … with the benefits to society.”
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Associated Press writers Danica Kirka and Kelvin Chan in London contributed.
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