Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 62 degrees before falling to a low 44 degrees tonight. Tomorrow will be a bit cloudy, but the high will be around 63 degrees.
Top story
Mask rule sparks threats, rebellion, shouting at store workers: ‘And we can’t do anything about it’
Employees of grocery stores, pharmacies and hardware stores aren’t just struggling to keep shelves stocked and Illinoisans supplied during the coronavirus pandemic.
They’ve also had to deal with “a very large man” carrying a hunting knife through a DeKalb store, an “irate” man threatening to shoot a worker at a Romeoville store, and even a police officer making a “political protest” at a shop in Peoria — each of them bare-faced in rebellion against state requirements for shoppers to wear masks.
Those front-line workers deemed “essential” during the Illinois shutdown have been faced with dozens of such confrontations with customers refusing to follow Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s guidelines to wear masks in stores, according to Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
And with many residents itching to get back to life as they knew it — and Pritzker laying out plans yesterday for a phased reopening of the state’s economy on a regional basis — some retailers are concerned it could get worse.
“My fear is that these instances will escalate into a situation where someone will get hurt,” an anonymous Carbondale store manager wrote in a complaint submitted to the merchants association, saying they’ve had several issues enforcing the mask guidelines.
We’re making our vital coronavirus coverage free for all readers. See the latest news here.
Those fears were validated last week in Flint, Michigan, where a woman, her adult son and husband have been charged in the fatal shooting of a security guard who refused to let her daughter enter a Family Dollar store because she wasn’t wearing a face mask.
Stores have done their part to institute the policy meant to curtail the spread of the virus, said Karr: Merchants have posted signs and played recordings over sound systems about the face covering requirement.
“But retailers are in no position to enforce it,” Karr said. “We can’t physically restrain anyone, so anyone can walk right by.” That should fall to local law enforcement, he said.
Most customers haven’t had a problem abiding by the face covering policy, Karr said. “But it doesn’t take a huge problem. It takes one argument that turns into something more serious.”
Now, Karr is calling on the state to issue “a clear direction that local law enforcement have the responsibility here” in enforcing the face covering requirement.
Read the full story from Mitchell Armentrout.
More news you need
- Federal agents investigating a prostitution ring known as the “Norridge Girls” nabbed Marcin Ciborowski at O’Hare Airport on Valentine’s Day. While in jail, he called an associate to discuss their prostitution business, and griped about being short on clients because of COVID-19, the feds allege.
- In March, Amazon employee Shantrece Johnson demonstrated with coworkers outside the company’s Little Village warehouse to protest unsafe working conditions as the coronavirus pandemic was climbing toward its peak. Now, she’s home sick with COVID-19 and worried her teenage son may also have it.
- State Rep. Kam Buckner wants to spark public conversation about why a Chicago police officer stopped him outside a big-box store in the South Loop and asked for a receipt for the items in his cart and an ID. He told Mitch Dudek what happened.
- The Jibarito Stop, a popular Puerto Rican lunch and dinner spot in Pilsen, had done steady business during the pandemic, avoiding the sweeping closures that have wiped out half of Illinois’ restaurants. But a meat shortage due to outbreaks at packing plants nationwide has made it too difficult to stay open.
- Another 136 people have died in Illinois from COVID-19 as the state nears 3,000 total deaths. The state has now seen 11 days in which more than 100 people have died from the coronavirus.
- Pitchfork has canceled its 2020 festival because of the coronavirus, officials announced today. It’s the latest of many music festivals in Chicago to pull the plug.
A bright one
‘Stay Home Save Lives’ gear inspired by Lightfoot memes to aid coronavirus relief
We’ll never forget the crazy time we’re currently living through. But if you want a uniquely Chicago momento to put in a time capsule or show your grandkids one day, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s election team is selling some items you might be interested in.
Local artist Mike Noren has created a design inspired by the now-famous memes of the mayor keeping a watchful eye over the city during the stay-at-home order. You can buy that design on a gray T-shirt or sticker for $30 and $8, respectively.
We've partnered with local artist @gummyarts to create a "Stay Home" design to raise money for COVID charities. Visit https://t.co/ylKNGfjHZ1 to order t-shirts and stickers. pic.twitter.com/PfFNMJsWWT
— Lori Lightfoot (@LoriLightfoot) May 6, 2020
The money raised from the sales will go toward “local COVID relief charities” after costs for printing and shipping.
Here’s how to order “stay home, save lives” merch.
From the press box
The most recent episodes of “The Last Dance” told the story of how Michael Jordan became a pitchman unlike any other. Here’s our Rick Telander with some awesome behind-the-scenes details from the famous 1991 “Be Like Mike” Gatorade commercial that inspired a generation of kids.
Not everyone appreciates the documentary, though: Craig Hodges, a former Bulls teammate, slammed Jordan for his response to questions about the early-80s Bulls and the “traveling cocaine circus.”
Your daily question ☕
What’s something you’ve had to postpone because of the coronavirus?
Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you how you’ve been keeping your kids busy and entertained lately. Here’s what some of you said…
“Animal Crossing, Disney+, and reading to them have kept them occupied.” — Oz Escobar
“Cartoon network.” — Jesse Mariogim
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