A sign of the times

The Art Institute of Chicago’s iconic lions who have been known to don wreaths during the holiday season and Chicago Bears helmets during the kick off to the pro football season are getting a new look.

Following local protocol,”Chicago Together! Make a Mask, Give a Mask, Wear a Mask,” the lions have followed suit.

Early this morning workers were spotted installing the masks.

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Part two of the public art initiative will take place today at 11:00 am at the Picasso on Daley Plaza.

The media are welcome to attend but must be dressed appropriately with masks and practice social distancing.

It is requested that the public save gas and lives by staying home. There will be coverage both online and TV news.

The initiative, a partnership of local designers and the city, uses creative vision to promote public health in a uniquely Chicago way:

• While we all stay home, designers at Dimension Design reimagined what they might see if local landmarks followed the recommendation to wear face coverings in public. Mayor Lightfoot recognized that putting masks on landmarks would be an opportunity to remind Chicagoans that we are all in this together—and that we should all be taking necessary steps to protect each other as we navigate this difficult time.

• The materials used in the creation of these masks had no impact on supplies that could be used as PPE for those fighting on the front lines of the pandemic. The masks were installed by Chicago Flyhouse.

• “Chicago is made up of dreamers, thinkers and doers. I’m proud to support everyone who finds fun and creative ways to drive awareness among Chicagoans for these important public health initiatives,” Mayor Lightfoot said.

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The digital divide is defined as the gulf between those who can readily access computers and the internet, and those who can not. During the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic shutdown that it has caused, there are worries that it will only get worse, becoming a “digital chasm.”

The stark divisions that already exist in society, in terms of educational attainment and income equality, could be exacerbated the longer the stay-at-home orders remain in place and most businesses are shuttered. With schools going to at home virtual learning, access to high speed broadband is key.

Spectrum, providers of cable TV and high speed internet packages, has offered free Wi-Fi for 60 days nationwide. Another provider in Chicagoland and northwest Indiana, Comcast is doing the same. Cellular service provider Verizon has offered 15 GB of data, at no additional charge to account holders for the month of April, and then another 15 gigs for the month of May. With more people working remotely, and additional work being done online instead of on site, the need for bandwidth and data is ramping up.

Knowledge is power, the saying goes, and without access to that knowledge, there will be no opportunities for empowerment in the so-called information economy. It’s an issue that’s picking up steam among news pundits and politicians. CNBC’s Jim Cramer has Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on his show Wednesday, and he addressed the digital divide issue.

“We’re in a world where people who are healthy, people who have jobs, contracts, they can stay at home,” Cramer said to Madame Speaker.

“I see another world. I see the possibility of two societies developing. [One] society that has to be out there every day in the masses, subways, risking themselves. And this other group of people, safe at home, with all sorts of computers, very rich. A society that is not what you and I want to see. How do we prevent that?”

Unfortunately, her answer was unsatisfactory, as it was severely lacking in substance. A national politician who came off as more in touch with the everyday person this week is one of local- Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth. In her Tuesday night appearance on The Daily Show, she pointed out how African-Americans account for 43% of the COVID-19 cases in this state, despite comprising only 15% of the population.

A big reason for that is the phenomena Cramer was describing, as African-Americans are more likely to be employed in jobs deemed “essential,” and those often come with more exposure to larger masses of people. Another reason is the excessive presence of air pollution in the neighborhoods where African-Americans live, as it breeds respiratory illnesses, which are of course, more dangerous than ever amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As Duckworth said, you take “the L” (Chicago’s metro subway system) from “the loop” (downtown) just ten stops to the Southside, life expectancy drops by a whopping 20 years. It’s an eye-opening statistic, and one that reminds us all just how far behind society often leaves large segments of our population. Now, in this time of great re-evaluation and re-assessment, we need to make sure everyone has access to resources, both online and off.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.

You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.

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Judge Stops Illinois Governor From Extending State Lockdown

The judge’s temporary restraining order sets the stage in Illinois and perhaps nationally for a legal battle over public health experts’ far-reaching demands for public confinement.

By Dennis Byrne

In one of the nation’s first successful legal challenges to mandatory quarantine directives, an Illinois state judge has thrown a wrench into Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s extension of his stay-at-home order until at least May 30.

The judge’s temporary restraining order sets the stage in Illinois and perhaps nationally for a legal battle over public health experts’ far-reaching demands for public confinement against the rising fear about the drastic consequences of a nationwide economic shutdown.

In the case, Downstate Circuit Court Judge Michael McHaney on Monday temporarily restrained Pritzker from enforcing the lockdown order against state Rep. Darren Bailey, a Downstate Republican from tiny rural Xenia. Bailey sued Pritzker for violating a provision of the state Emergency Management Act that allows such drastic closure actions for only 30 days. Because Pritzker originally issued his order on March 8, Pritzker’s authority expired on April 8, Bailey argued.

Bailey said he is “irreparably harmed each day he is subjected to” Pritzker’s executive order. In a statement, he said, “Enough is enough! I filed this lawsuit on behalf of myself and my constituents who are ready to go back to work and resume a normal life.”  The judge cited in his order Bailey’s right, in “his liberty interest to be free from Pritzker’s executive order of quarantine in his own home’

The suit follows an argument made earlier made by Northbrook, Illinois attorney Michael Ciesla, who first pointed out on his law firm blog how Pritzker’s extension violated the 30-day provision and that even the governor is required to follow the law. Ciesla’s argumentation was widely ignored while Pritzker, Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and the Chicago media scorned or dismissed the suit as a cheap political stunt.

So when McHaney saw enough merit in the lawsuit to issue an injunction against the extension, Pritzker and Lightfoot claimed the action threatens everyone’s health. But they utterly failed to address the heart of the lawsuit—the plain language of the act that clearly lays out the 30-day restriction.

Technically the decision applies only to Bailey, but legal experts agree that the precedent gives weight to any Illinoisan who chooses to challenge the order. Just how seriously Pritzker and Lightfoot take the decision can be measured by the depth of their denunciations.

Pritzker warned that if his order were immediately lifted “people would die” and deaths would “shoot into the thousands by the end of May…. Our hospitals would be full, and very sick people would have nowhere to go.” Lightfoot called the decision “troubling and wrong” and despite it would continue her lockdown policies “to stay the course.”

The “course” is some of the country’s most stringent controls, such as Lightfoot’s closing of parks and other outdoor activities. Pritzker’s new order, effective May 1, would among other things require everyone in Illinois to wear a face mask outdoors, while including some modifications such as opening state parks.

Bailey says he was hoping to push Pritzker into creating a “more realistic plan” reflecting the fact that Illinois is such a diverse region, requiring different approaches for the mostly rural Downstate and metropolitan Chicago. Bailey’s hometown of Xenia has a population of 364. It’s located about 100 miles east of St. Louis in Clay County, which has recorded just two confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths.

Chicago’s Cook County has 31,953 confirmed cases and 1,347 deaths, but the most feared outcome hasn’t materialized. The city’s sprawling exhibition hall, McCormick Place, had been fitted with 3,000 emergency beds to handle the expected overflow from jammed hospitals, but because of low usage, 2,000 beds are now being removed.

Tensions between the state’s two regions are an historic constant. Most recently those differences show up in a growing movement by Downstaters to separate Chicago from the rest of the state. In this, Illinois is but a microcosm of how heavily infected, urbanized New York and vast swathes of Middle America are vastly different and require tailored approaches in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. It also reflects the argument—opposed by many liberals—that the fight is best carried on the local level.

Illinois’ regional differences will play out in an expected high-speed appeal of McHaney’s stay. The Downstate appeals court that would hear the case is dominated by Republicans, who, being elected, would not be expected to overturn McHaney’s decision. The Illinois Supreme Court, which could hear the appeal directly, is controlled by Democrats, and considered likely to ultimately back Pritzker.

Still, with growing sentiment that the various shutdown orders have gone too far, with increasing public protests against the restrictions, crushing unemployment, and the unease that epidemiologists and their models are running the country, what’s happening in Illinois could presage even more objections to unprecedented assaults on liberty.

The case in Illinois’ 4th Judicial Circuit Court is Darren Bailey v. Jay Robert Pritzker, 20 CH 6.

Dennis Byrne is a freelance writer.

Today is the final day of April. Thirty days that under our current living conditions have seemed like one hundred. Most of us are ready for April to end and move into May. We’re hopeful it will be better.

April is also a huge month in our Parkinson’s community. It’s thirty days where PD is out in front with it’s campaigns to raise money and awareness for the disease. April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month.

Like everything else these days, Parkinson’s has taken a back seat to the current Covid-19 pandemic. You watch the news, read the newspaper, talk with family/friends and it’s all about the pandemic. All day, all the time is Covid-19….and that’s more than fine. We’re all concerned about the pandemic and the effects it will have on our lives. We’re worried about our survival.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about Parkinson’s!

Even on this blog, which got it’s start because of Parkinson’s Disease and is named due to the disease, awareness month has taken a back seat. At one time, the Hippy Shakes honored the month by running a thirty day series of Parkinson’s articles. In 2020, this will be the only piece recognizing P.D.

But, again…that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about Parkinson’s!

I think about it every day when I take my first pill. I’m reminded of it whenever I notice one of Parkinson’s many symptoms. I obsess about whenever I see one of those damn commercials with the dude having Parkinson’s hallucinations.

I told you I haven’t forgotten about Parkinson Disease. It’s never far away.

Parkinson’s Disease and it’s foundation have been hit hard by the pandemic in another way. Spring is the start of the charity walk season for all diseases. It’s the biggest way that they raise money to help fight the disease, fund programs to help those suffering and help find a cure. Like everything else in life, those walks have been cancelled. It’s hard to maintain social distancing when you’re cruising the lakefront side by side.

The Parkinson’s Foundation had scheduled more than twenty of it’s Moving Day walks for this Spring. To replace those walks, there will be a virtual walk on May 9. We’ve been seeing that with other organizations who have had balls or galas cancelled due to Covid-19. One good thing about a virtual event is it’ll give access to people who haven’t been able to come to any Moving Days due to poor health or location.

Another Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month has come and gone. Sorry for the lack of attention you’ve been given. Hopefully, by April of next year, Covid-19 will be gone and you can be front and center again. Even better, hopefully by April of next year, there will be a cure for both.

Related Post: Alan Alda’s life proves that a Parkinson’s diagnosis is not a death sentence

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I guess that its safe to assume with everyone sheltering at home, and the grocery stores being pretty bare sometimes, people are doing some serious cooking. What better way to keep yourself busy and your family fed! Cooking has always been a passion of mine. I am enjoying having some time to do a little extra cooking. I have even learned to make bread.

Here are some tips to help you with your meal planning!

1. Stock up on the necessities. With the grocery stores running out of items- keep a stash of your most used non perishables. Organize them by category.

2. Plan what you are cooking each week? How many people do you have to feed?

3. When picking out recipes to make – check out what you have in your pantry to use. Don’t let those items sit and expire.

4. What recipes require some of the same ingredients? This will help prevent waste.

5. Can you freeze it? If you are quarantined by yourself- who wants to eat the same meal 4 to 5 times. Get out the tupperware and freeze it for a later date.

I set the table every night with my nice dishes and cloth napkins. It makes me feel better.

I’ve been trying to assert that the word “hopefully” has become a stage direction instead of an adverb.

MARGARET (hopefully): Oh, please, readers, use this word well!

When I read “On Language” and left myself sticky bookmarks to get back to the great entries, I found that William Safire was on my side in this fight. Here are some selections from what he wrote about “hopefully.” I hope you’ll take them to heart and save a good word.

Safire wrote, “Evidently, the word ‘hopefully has become the litmus test to determine one is a language snob or a language slob.”

“Angrily, traditionalists hold that the word is an adverb, usually intended to modify a verb. In the sentence ‘He will look at me hopefully,” the verb “to look” is modified by “hopefully” to mean that the look will contain hope. Purists reject ‘Hopefully, he will look at me’ because it is confusing. Does it mean ‘with hope in his eyes’ or ‘I hope he will look at me’? They argue that when you mean to say ‘it is hoped’ or ‘I hope,’ you should come out and say those words, and not cloak your hopes in a fuzzy ‘hopefully’ that can be misinterpreted.”

The argument goes on in Safire’s pages, as it does in real life over the decades since the book’s publication. But that’s the meat of it.

Dare to hope, readers — and dare to say that you do. Even now, defend “I hope” and keep the distinction by doing things hopefully.

Got it? I hope so.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook. 

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