* Chicago Crusader…

According to a Crusader analysis, the positivity rate remains under 10 percent in 16 [Chicago] zip codes of predominately Black neighborhoods, or communities with large Black populations. In eight of those zip codes, the positivity rate is less than five percent; another eight zip codes have a positivity rate between five and 10 percent.

However, in four zip codes, the percentage of new cases remain above 10 percent. They include South Shore, Roseland/West Pullman, South and North Lawndale and South Deering.

Chart…

In comparison, the seven-day statewide positivity rate is 3 percent.

* WTTW…

As businesses reopen across the city and state and COVID-19 infection rates have slowed, new cases in Illinois’ Latino communities have continued to climb. In fact, the total number of infections among Latino residents in Illinois is on track to comprise half of all COVID-19 cases in the state, according to the Latino Policy Forum.

To date, more than 44,000 cases labeled “Hispanic” on the Illinois Department of Public Health dashboard account for about 33% of all cases of the virus in Illinois. Hispanics and Latinos represent about 17% of the state’s population. In Chicago, Latinos represent about 29% of the population, but account for 44% of cases per the city’s data portal.

Now, as Latino communities scramble to understand why the coronavirus has hit them so hard, they’re calling upon elected officials to do more to help reverse the trend of rising infection rates.

And there is concern that the often-incomplete racial and ethnicity data being used to track these cases is masking even greater numbers of Latino cases of infection.

According to IDPH data, as of June 18, cases in which ethnicity data was “left blank” account for more than 31,000, or about 23%, of all confirmed cases in Illinois.

* Illinois Policy Institute…

Illinois regained 62,200 jobs from mid-April to mid-May, but they were unevenly distributed and minority workers were suffering the most.

White workers during that time recovered 13% of the jobs lost, but black workers recovered only 2% and Hispanic workers only 1%, according to data released June 18 by the Illinois Department of Employment Security in conjunction with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rebound has been similar for male and female workers.