Chicago lakefront: A pivotal day in the outdoors and COVID-19 in Chicago

Dawn through the fog over Lake Michigan Wednesday while coho fishing on the South Side. | Dale Bowman

The pop of fire extinguishers propelling out weights occasionally dotted the fog Wednesday on the South Side lakefront.

The sunrise slowly burned through—red, yellow, orange—over Lake Michigan.

God, I needed that time.

Many of us absolutely need that outside time a week into Illinois’ stay-at-home order.

I’ve never valued the morning ramble with our beloved mutt, Lady, more than now. And Wednesday made it very obvious that Chicagoans may have never valued their lakefront more.

The outdoors and the stay-at-home edict are an uneasy alliance.

The mechanics of powerlining build in its own social distancing.

Powerlining, that quirky Chicago tradition, involves propelling out a weight and rubber band, then connecting floats, a bell and fishing line with multiple hooks. It is primarily used for salmon and trout, though sometimes for perch, too.

The firing of the weights and the drifting on the long lines means that powerliners need good space between them. I put it at roughly 50 feet between each powerliner.

I am not a powerliner, so I had a rattle bait on one rod and the other rod with two hooks of crawlers down several feet with split shots under a bobber.

No coho were caught while I was there. The guy next to me lost one and I heard one other bell go off. So I called Ron Wozny to see how he was doing at Montrose Harbor. I did a story with him (March 13, 2019 Sun-Times) last year on the evolution of powerlining. He said it was just as quiet there.

Even so, I went to Montrose, where we bumped elbows, then talked from a good social distance.

We only saw one fish caught, a small trout, but that hardly mattered.

“I just had to get out,” said Wozny, speaking for many.

Canada geese shared the lakefront with anglers and powerliners on a gorgeous morning Wednesday at Montrose Harbor.

Anybody out on Wednesday knows how beautiful the day was. It wasn’t just dozens of anglers, there were also birders, walkers, joggers, bikers, scooterers and wanderers. But not as many doing kissy face as usual.

A couple hours later, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot exploded during her daily update about the number of people congregating on the lakefront.

“If we have to — because you are not educating yourselves into compliance and if you are not abiding by these very clear, but necessary stay-at-home orders — we will be forced to shut down parks and the entire lakefront,’’ she said.

“Let me be clear. That’s the last thing any of us want and that’s the last thing that I want to do as mayor. But make no mistake: If people don’t take this in a serious way in which they must, I’m not gonna hesitate to pull every lever at my disposal to force compliance if necessary. But let’s not get to that point. We don’t need to. Stay at home. Only go out for essentials. If you want to exercise, do it in a way that you are not congregating with other people.”

She isn’t wrong. But I also plead for the lakefront and the parks being open, as long as people can respect social distancing and not gathering in groups.

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) issued a statement last week in support of the safe use of parks and open spaces during the COVID-19 outbreak. More than 500 organizations signed on to the statement.

The key phrasing was this:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has flagged mental health as a top concern associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. We recognize that social distancing may take a toll on our mental health, especially during high-stress and anxiety-producing global public health emergencies. We also know that parks provide a connection to the outdoors and green space as well as opportunities for physical activity which studies demonstrate reduces stress and improves mental health.

We believe that many parks, trails and open spaces can continue to be used in a safe manner that allows people to enjoy the mental and physical health benefits these spaces provide. In all instances, we recommend people follow local, state and national ordinances and guidelines regarding the use of these spaces and recognize that these vary from community to community.

There are two important sides to that. One, citizens need to respect social distancing and other CDC advice. Second, government at all levels needs to respect, no, make that fully understand, the necessity of the time outside, especially in a time like this.

Residents enjoy the warm weather with a stroll along the Lakefront Trail near Oak Street Beach, Wednesday afternoon, March 25, 2020, in Chicago, despite a stay-at-home order from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) ORG XMIT: ILCHS401