Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday declared a “public health red alarm” after learning that 70 percent of the Chicago deaths from the coronavirus are African Americans and promised a “robust and immediate comprehensive plan” to confront the disparity.
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic brought everyday life in Chicago to a halt, Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady had said her primary goal was narrowing the nine-year gap in life expectancy between black and white Chicagoans.
The so-called “death gap” between people who live downtown compared to parts of the West Side is an even more astounding 16 years.
To combat infant mortality, one of the five driving forces behind that gap, the city launched a pilot program last fall to have a home nurse visit inner-city mothers three weeks after they give birth.
Three months later, West Side hospitals and the Chicago-based American Medical Association agreed to contribute $6 million — nearly twice their prior commitment — to community and health improvements on the West Side.
Against that backdrop, Lightfoot was asked to respond to the fact that 61 of the 86 recorded deaths of city residents from coronavirus as of Saturday were African Americans, though blacks make up just 29 percent of the city’s population.
“It’s devastating to see those numbers and knowing that they’re not just numbers. They’re lives. There’s families and communities that have been shattered. That’s why we will be announcing a very robust and immediate, comprehensive plan to address this,” the mayor said.
“This is something that is a public health red alarm that we have to make sure we are stepping up as a community to address.”
The mayor said the numbers need to be viewed in the context of the alarm the Department of Public Health has sounded for years: There are “equity and health access disparities all across our city,” and particularly in black and brown communities, she said.
“We know the problems of diabetes, of heart disease, of respiratory illness are really prevalent in communities of black and brown folks. We know that access to health care is a similar challenge in a lot of those communities,” the mayor said.
From the onset of “this disease that is just ruthless in the way that it attacks” seniors and people with underlying conditions, Lightfoot said, she has highlighted those most vulnerable populations. She knew they would be “most at risk and, unfortunately, the data has proved that out.”
“We’re gonna be activating every part of the black and brown community — from the faith community to elected officials, to neighborhood organizations and, of course, the network of health care providers,” the mayor said.
“Not just the hospitals. But also the doctors, the insurance companies. This is something that we have to tackle as a community.”
Lightfoot acknowledged “decades of health disparities” cannot be erased “in a few days or a week.”
But, she said: “We have to impress upon people in these communities that there are things that they can do, there are tools at their disposal to help themselves. ... We have to call this out ... and make sure that we have a very robust, multi-tiered response now and going forward. And we will.”
No CTA service cuts, Mayor insists
Also Monday, Lightfoot once again ruled out CTA service cuts or a total shutdown of the city’s mass transit system even though ridership has plunged—by 80 percent on rail and 70 percent on buses— since the statewide, stay-at-home order.
In the city and county of San Francisco, train and light rail services reported losses of $1 million a week before being shut down and replaced with buses.
In Chicago, the CTA continues on its normal schedule, though the majority of people fortunate enough to still have jobs are working from home.
That’s apparently how the CTA will stay.
“I don’t see a circumstance where we are gonna shut down the CTA. I also don’t see a circumstance where we’re gonna substantially cut services unless that’s absolutely essential because, if we cut services ... that means that people are gonna be crowding the buses and the trains even more because they don’t have as many options,” the mayor said.
Lightfoot noted the CTA is the transportation lifeline for “the people who are feeding our children” at Chicago Public Schools. The same goes health care workers, first-responders, grocery store employees and other “front-line” city workers.
“Shutting down the CTA would have a ripple effect in all the negative ways in areas of our city that we need to stay strong,” she said.
More help with rent, mortgages being considered
The mayor was asked what more she plans to do to prevent laid off employees who can’t afford the rent or mortgage payment from being evicted from their homes.
She talked about the $2 million she has already made available to provide 2,000 grants of $1,000 each and said she is “looking at Round 2.”
