* While we can always hope, nothing good is coming from any of this right now. A man is dead for no good reason. Again. Our nation is in turmoil, much of it understandably so. And now we have all this collateral damage and genuine fear of another coronavirus spike at absolutely the worst possible moment…

This was supposed to be the week Chicago took its biggest step back to normal.

Now it’s not even clear how to step back into the Loop.

Though the mayor’s office said Sunday that people with legitimate reason to enter the Loop would be free to go about their business, several restrictions on public transportation and expressway ramps seemed to limit access points.

Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged she is concerned about what the protests, and the riots that followed, will mean for Chicago’s reopening following the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m worried,” Lightfoot said Sunday. “I’m absolutely worried about a potential outbreak as a result of what we saw yesterday. Thousands of people, in cheek to jowl, in small spaces is exactly the opposite of what we have been preaching now for 10 weeks’ time.”

* And it’s not just Chicago…

More tear gas in Aurora pic.twitter.com/G9vANGqWQB

— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) June 1, 2020

More…

The protest started off peaceful at the Aurora Police Department, but turned violent in the downtown area with many businesses and buildings damaged.

In at least two separate instances, instigators set fire to buildings in the downtown area, Aurora Police Department spokesperson Paris Lewbel said. […]

In at least two instances, shots were fired at the officers working to contain the crowds, Lewbel said. Three squad cars were also set on fire and completely destroyed.

In multiple other instances, bricks, glass and rocks were also thrown at the officers. One Aurora Police officer suffered injuries as a result of items being thrown, Lewbel said.

The Aurora Police Department requested mutual aid assistance through the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, with officers from all over the state coming in to assist with the response.

* Waukegan…

Approximately two dozen businesses were broken into and looted, and somewhere around a dozen of people were arrested by police, Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.

* Champaign…

Between early Sunday evening and Monday morning, 27 people were arrested and booked in the Champaign County Jail.

The charges the arrestees face range from burglary and criminal trespass to mob action to possession of stolen property.

The breakdown of those arrested is split between 10 women and 17 men, whose ages range from 19 to 36-years-old.

* His Facebook profile indicates that he’s actually supportive of the protests, so I have no idea what happened here…

A Bloomington man has been arrested on multiple traffic charges in relation to a crash that involved protesters in downtown Bloomington Sunday night. Two people were injured.

McLean County jail documents indicate Marshall R. Blanchard, 21, was booked into the McLean County jail at 10:30 p.m. Sunday on a charge of reckless conduct, failure to obey a police office and being involved in an accident that causes injury.

* Rumors were everywhere. Kankakee County Sheriff Department…

“While we are aware of multiple reports of rumors, particularly on social media, we currently have no reports of any lootings or shootings in Kankakee County and all large-group gatherings appear to have remained peaceful at this time.”

Nothing happened other than peaceful protests.

* A Southwest Side lawmaker told me last night that he and others spent much of yesterday dealing with “an unbelievable amount of half truths and outright lies on social media.” More from his texts…

A Walmart got hit near 83rd and the Ryan by a roving band of looters who jumped in their cars and headed west. Walmart alerted the Evergreen Park store that they might be coming their way and the police converged on the Evergreen Park store, but nothing happened. That sparked a round of panic closings all over the area.

“I hate Facebook and Twitter,” the legislator said.

* More on the rumors and online threats…

Businesses across the suburbs, including at least four shopping malls, closed abruptly Sunday amid threats of looting and vandalism, authorities said. […]

Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook closed as numerous reports surfaced online about looting at the mall and nearby businesses. Police confirmed the closure on Facebook, but in a follow-up post stated there were no looters and the mall is secure.

Lombard officials in a tweet said Yorktown Center and several surrounding stores also closed early Sunday because of looting fears. […]

Police in Schaumburg confirmed that Woodfield Mall closed early Sunday as a result of social media threats, but said no looting or property damage was reported.

* Picking up the pieces…

Hundreds of volunteers, many armed with brooms and other cleaning supplies, were working to make repairs in downtown Aurora Monday morning following an evening of violence and looting.

There were so many volunteers, in fact, that some said they couldn’t find anything to actually clean.

* And this story caused some sort of liquid substance to run out of my eyeballs…

Driving home from his overnight shift at the Perry County Counseling Center Saturday morning, Nicholas Tate felt called to join the movement across the country calling for an end to violence against black people by police officers.

He didn’t have time to plan a larger gathering, so decided he would do his own one-man protest.

“I just wanted to spark a movement for people to stand up for love,” he said.

On the way home, he picked up materials to make a sign. At Dollar Tree, he ran into a friend, Tenielle Worthington, and told her about his plans. She offered to join him, doubling the expected attendance count from one to two. They met up at 2 p.m. on a visible corner of Du Quoin, between the RollnUp Smoke Shop & Liquor and Taco Bell.

Tate carried a sign that said, “One Honk to Acknowledge Black Lives Matter.”

They set a simple goal: 100 honks.

“Within 30 minutes, we got that done,” said Tate, a 28-year-old African American resident of Du Quoin. The small town of about 5,700 is about 7% black.

But what happened Saturday afternoon surpassed Tate’s expectations.

“Some people drove by, they started honking, and before you know it, people that were honking were pulling over in the parking lot of the grocery store and they were coming and joining us,” he said. “We had probably 20 people out there with signs and stuff helping with the protest.”