Um, no
Thursday, Jan 14, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday she’s seeking to reopen Chicago’s bars and restaurants for indoor service as soon as possible.
“If we look at the various criteria that the state has set, we are meeting most, if not all of those, so that’s a conversation that I will have with the governor,” she said.
Would it be too much to ask if people actually fact-checked the mayor once in a while? I know she’s the mayor and all, but still.
1) The city’s 7-day rolling positivity rate is 9.8 percent. It’s been between 9.8 and 10.5 for the past week. Under the criteria the state has set, opening restaurants requires a positivity rate of less than or equal to 6.5 percent for three days.
2) Chicago’s medical surge hospital beds have been under the 20 percent threshold for 8 consecutive days. According to IDPH, that level is currently at 17.5 percent.
…Adding… The Tribune did fact-check the mayor and got a response from the governor’s office…
A Pritzker spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday that Chicago’s coronavirus numbers aren’t there yet, but the governor would “look forward to her call” on the matter.
“As the governor announced last week, beginning tomorrow, regions who meet the metrics to go back to lower tiers in the resurgence mitigation plan will be allowed to do so,” Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said. “Currently, the city of Chicago and Cook County do not meet the metrics to return to previous tiers.”
- Incandenza - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:28 pm:
It’s insane she wants to do this, especially seeing as the UK variant is known to be in the area and is much more likely to spread. Look at any what its done in Ireland in conjunction with opening up: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1348633775438139395?s=20
- Frumpy White Guy - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:31 pm:
200% increase in deadly, violent and horrific Car Jackings in Chicago. That should be her priority.
- Tax man cometh - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:35 pm:
How dare you question da mayor
- WestBurbs - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:37 pm:
The data appears to directly contradict the thesis that closing indoor dining leads to more covid overall due to private indoor gatherings….
https://www.dph.illinois.gov/countyschool?county=Chicago
- Cheryl44 - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:43 pm:
We can’t open restaurants to dine in service yet. I know they’re suffering but I don’t see anything good coming from killing off their customers.
- Al - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:55 pm:
Memorial Day weekend would probably be better.
- Moe Berg - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 2:58 pm:
@Incandenza is right to bring up the UK variant and Rich is right to bring up the city’s positivity rate.
Mayor Lightfoot surely knows, or should have been briefed by her staff, about it.
It’s just grossly irresponsible and, frankly, unseemly of her to try and lay off the blame for Chicago restaurants’ plight on the governor.
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans chose to abandon small businesses and restaurants. Democrats can’t begin to do anything about that until the senators-elect from Georgia are seated.
Mayor Lightfoot’s a profound disappointment whose first instinct is to pick a fight. Very much on a one-term trajectory, imo.
- Popsie - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:03 pm:
First cuomo, now lightfoot, they are beginning to realize that a week from today they own it all and can’t blame trump.
- 14th ward - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:15 pm:
I think She needs to stay relevant in the Press, All these headlines and none involving your honor . I am not ready to write her off just yet.
- Grimlock - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:16 pm:
Even if Chicago was on the borderline for the metric, what does she think will happen to the numbers two weeks after indoor dining opens back up?
- Seven - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:17 pm:
She’s shown little concern about large public gatherings for 10 months so the spread of COVID isn’t an issue to her. Maybe trying to save whatever restaurants are left now is. Who knows?
- Big Jer - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:19 pm:
===Would it be too much to ask if people actually fact-checked the mayor once in a while?===
A person could make a decent living fact checking Lightfoot as she constantly engages in double talk and what she says on a subject seems to shift daily like the wind in Chicago.
The Chicago Tribune’s Gregory Pratt’s does a good job at times of calling Mayor Lightfoot out on playing fast and loose with the facts. I think he has even got under her skin a few times at press conferences.
https://twitter.com/royalpratt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:24 pm:
“The data appears to directly contradict the thesis that closing indoor dining leads to more covid overall due to private indoor gatherings….”
Which data? If you’re saying the data shows less transmissions from restaurants now, it’s because they’re closed.
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:25 pm:
I heard she is hiring some downstate lawyer to represent the city and sue the Governor. /s
- Grimlock - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:29 pm:
DuPage Saint - maybe she should ask him to sue her?
- WestBurbs - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:36 pm:
Chicago Cynic — that is not at all what I said. What I said is that the thesis put forth by many is that we get more infections when indoor dining closes because that, supposedly, drives private gatherings, which, supposedly are more dangerous than indoor dining. The data, which is overall infection regardless of venue, shows, pretty clearly, that infection rates dropped substantially shortly after indoor dining stopped. So, the data suggests strongly that the thesis is wrong. Obviously, correlation isn’t causation but if you want to look at the data, that is what you see.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:38 pm:
Yeah, it seems elemental, but not everyone understands that lobbyist are their friends.
- WestBurbs - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 3:45 pm:
I’m pretty sure most restaurant/bar owners already know this — but the new PPP Round 2 loans are coming online now — and they provide 100% forgivable loans equal to 3.5 months of payroll for restaurant/bars (any business with NAICS code beginning with 72) - vs. the original PPP loans that provided only 2.5 months. There are some qualification hurdles (25% revenue drop) but I suspect every restaurant/bar can (unfortunately) easily meet them.
The PPP money won’t solve all the pain (or even most of it) but every little bit helps.
- ChicagoBars - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 4:25 pm:
Heather Cherone at WTTW with the paragraph of the day about this….
“Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Pritzker, said the governor had not yet heard from the mayor on this issue, but “looks forward to her call.” Lightfoot has repeatedly criticized aldermen for issuing news releases and holding news conferences rather than contacting her directly about areas of disagreement.”
https://news.wttw.com/2021/01/14/lightfoot-again-calls-pritzker-allow-indoor-dining-drinking
- Shytown - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 4:30 pm:
What a horrible way to try and score brownie points with the deep pockets of the restaurant industry and bargoers. What happened to Ms. mask up and stay home? With that said it’s hard not to sympathize with the plight of bars and restaurants and those who rely on them for their income, but if we don’t keep working to nip this thing in the bud we’re still gonna be here months from now. I don’t know what people don’t understand about this. Who advises the Mayor and can they let her know this is a very bad idea?
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 4:33 pm:
Thanks, Lori, for giving more ammo to the Plandemic nutters who say the only reason businesses were shut down last year was to hurt Trump politically.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 5:47 pm:
So, I, personally, would not go into a restaurant and remove my mask, which is the only way to eat, which is the only reason to go to a restaurant.
But, other people do, get infected, and then give it to the rest of us. I’d like to be able to at least go to the grocery store.
- Montrose - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 6:04 pm:
It just feels like a thinly veiled attempt to use Pritzker as the bad guy. “I tried to get the restrictions lifted, but the Governor just wouldn’t budge.”
Yes. I am cynical.
- thisjustinagain - Thursday, Jan 14, 21 @ 6:52 pm:
Lightfoot continues to crater herself by making statements without anybody fact-checking, as well as giving opinions when she should refrain from doing so. She is scrambling to find someone to blame for the collapse of Chicago after the riots, looting, and other crime soared thanks to failed liberal policies she helped champion. Today it’s J.B., tomorrow the FOP and CPD, anyone but her.