Remembering all those who have died from COVID-19 in the past year.
Katherine Delahanty Journal
Photos by Lisa Geiger
My eldest graduated from high school in 2020, my middle graduated from 8th grade and my youngest turned 10. My family had car parades for both graduates and we took socially distanced photos on our front lawn.
State says all adults can get shots starting April 12, but suburban counties stay cautious
by Marni Pyke – March 2021
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all Illinoisans age 16 and older effective April 12 and loosening restrictions on activities using a gradual approach to reopen the state based on the number of people inoculated.
“It’s time to begin to cautiously move toward normalcy, and it’s imperative that we do so in a way that maintains all the progress we’ve made to date,” Pritzker said, citing a trend of decreasing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
He introduced a future “Bridge Phase” that would increase capacity at shops, restaurants, conventions, festivals and social events like weddings from the state’s current Phase 4 rules.
Pritzker has said the White House is promising to ramp up delivery of vaccines to Illinois, including the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
He noted that federal vaccine shipments to Illinois this week have surpassed 800,000 doses. That number should top 1 million doses a week in April, and the state is averaging about 100,000 shots in arms a day.
“COVID-19 has not gone away, but the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter,” he said.
But it’s unclear whether the thousands of suburban seniors age 65 and older plus essential workers who are currently eligible for vaccinations, but who can’t get appointments, will be vaccinated by April 12, when the next stage opens up to millions more people.
Despite talk of light, “we’re still in the tunnel,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said at a briefing. “We’re clearly still in the middle of struggling with the pandemic.”
The vaccination bottleneck could delay reaching the Bridge Phase.
To reach the Bridge Phase, 70% of Illinoisans 65 and older must have received at least one dose of a vaccine, plus the state must have 20% or more of its ICU beds available for patients and hold steady on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths over 28 days.
About 58% of seniors have had one shot, and the state is vaccinating about 1% of adults a day.
Pritzker said the state’s face mask mandate will remain in place until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifts that rule.
Currently, the state is allowing inoculations for essential workers such as police and people age 65 and older — Phase 1B — plus individuals under 65 with serious medical conditions like cancer that could cause worse outcomes from the virus, or Phase 1B-plus.
Collar county health departments have limited shots to the Phase 1B group because of an insufficient supply of vaccines.
“DuPage County will continue to provide vaccinations to all eligible residents while addressing the reality of vaccine availability constraints,” DuPage County Health Department spokeswoman Stephanie Calvillo said.
“DuPage County is receiving about 18,000 doses of vaccine next week, and we will continue to work through our higher-risk populations, including individuals 65 years and older, front-line essential workers, and then individuals age 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions or disabilities as the statewide eligibility expands.”
Cook County is not starting Phase 1B-plus until Monday.
“We are confident in the state and federal government assurances that much more vaccine is on its way, and we look forward to moving quickly through the next phases in an equitable and efficient manner,” Cook County Department of Public Health spokesman Don Bolger said. “We’ll continue to study the data and monitor progress and announce future phases when appropriate.”
If over a 10-day period, cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 trend up as ICU beds decrease, the state will revert to a previous phase.
“Rather than flipping a switch and saying we’re now in Phase 5, we’re looking at it more like a dial — dialing back some of the capacity restrictions that helped reduce transmission,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said.
“I think the idea of using vaccine metrics to opening things is a good one,” said Jonathan Pinsky, Edward Hospital’s medical director of infection control and prevention. However, “I think we run into trouble if we start allowing gatherings with people who have not been vaccinated.”
Some examples of Bridge Phase changes are doubling the number of participants at festivals, expanding museum attendance to 60% from 25%, and expanding store and fitness center capacities to 60% from 50%. Weddings and social gatherings rise from the lesser of 50% or 50 people indoors to 250 individuals.
The Bridge Phase would also permit meetings, conventions and conferences with up to 1,000 people or 60% of capacity.
“Every bit helps. … Getting our convention business going again and putting fans in stadiums puts diners in seats in our local restaurants,” Illinois Restaurant Association CEO Sam Toia said.
Asked why he didn’t use a solid time frame, Pritzker said, “I’m not going to set a date. (The pandemic) ebbs and flows.” And instead of using an 11-region approach that has been the model, the shift to the Bridge Phase will be based on metrics for the entire state.
The state also adjusted some Phase 4 rules Thursday, such as allowing large movie theaters with space for 200 or more viewers to operate at 25% capacity.
“This is huge and exciting,” said Classic Cinemas CEO Chris Johnson, who can now reopen his vintage Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove.
The state also announced that effective Thursday people with proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PRC test one to three days before an activity do not count toward capacity limits.
The final step in reopening Illinois and moving to almost pre-pandemic conditions is Phase 5.
Copyright 2021 Daily Herald (www.dailyherald.com)
Mount Prospect Historical Society retools and adapts during Pandemic
The Mount Prospect Historical Society studies history, of course, and objectively knew about the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918. But its leaders didn’t expect to be struck by another pandemic today, any more than the rest of the public did. We were past those kinds of concerns, weren’t we?
But during March of 2020 it became apparent that residents of this planet weren’t past them and the Society shut its doors, just like every other entity.
During the rest of 2020 and at least the first half of 2021 the Society has adapted. Board meetings have been held online via Zoom and, during the warm months, on the Society’s driveway with everyone sitting six feet apart. They held a retirement farewell for their 17-year veteran Office Manager outside on the driveway and hired new staff via virtual first interviews and socially-distanced second interviews and by the fall of 2020 had welcomed three new staff members to their team.
Society activities were largely cancelled – no Spring Dinner; a bus trip to the Robie House and the Pullman neighborhood postponed multiple times; no 2020 Housewalk – the list goes on and on.
But the Society also got innovative. They quickly put together five different neighborhood walking tours using information collected over preceding years for the Housewalk and posted them on their website for people to download for free and enjoy while walking for exercise and entertainment. The tours’ availability was publicized via lawn signs posted along the various routes and continue to be immensely popular.
The Society’s summer camps for children were successfully done virtually with parents picking up materials in our Education Center breezeway and then having their children participate via Zoom. They also managed to have a Blacksmith demonstration on the Society’s driveway for members of the public to enjoy. Their enthusiastic new Office Manager, Amanda Marcus, even put new emphasis on the marketing and sale of unique, themed “Sammy Skobel’s Hot Dogs” and “Hotter Than Mother’s Pinball” t-shirts via the Society’s social media outlets, bringing in over $1,000 in sales during late 2020 and early 2021.
The Society also kept its membership informed by holding a virtual Annual Meeting in March 2021 (instead of the usual Soup or Chili Supper in the Village Hall) and publishing their financial report in the Society’s spring newsletter.
But the Society’s biggest victory was the Virtual Dollhouse Walk which their new director, Emily Dattilo, constructed around five wonderful Society-owned dollhouses from different eras and one fabulous dollhouse owned by a former Housewalk participant, Julie Michalik.
The Society’s videographer Board member Ed Johnson used his incredible skill, patience and equipment to create a narrated tour from a doll’s scaled-down perspective which they were able to post on the Society’s website and ask viewers around the country to enjoy for $10 per household. Their usual realtor Housewalk sponsors even chipped in sponsorship money and all-told, during the months of December, January and February, the Society pulled in $2181.53 to help keep them afloat. A total of 126 viewers paid to see the featured dollhouses.
“It has been a difficult time which has forced us to pivot and adapt, but we have done just that and have ample reason to take pride in our accomplishments,” said Deb Rittle, Society president.
“We have also forged a partnership with the Village, the Public Library and both of the Village’s primary park districts to virtually record for the future the reality of the pandemic’s impact on the people of Mount Prospect in essays, testimonials, photos, artwork and videos. That work continues,” added Marilyn Genther, Society vice president, and chairman of the Pandemic Reflections project.
Sidewalk mini-libraries sharing books and food
The concept of building and erecting small birdhouse-style structures and turning them into lending libraries for neighbors and passersby was born in Wisconsin in 2009 and since then the idea has taken off like a wildfire with numerous groups and individuals adopting the idea and both building and erecting them around the country. The idea is to take a book and leave a book, too.
Locally, Joey Carbone’s name has become synonymous with the idea. His wife, Jen, read about the concept and asked him if he would build one for her and, the rest, as they say, is history!
“I do not have a background in carpentry,” Carbone admitted. “Everything that I know, I learned from my father who doesn’t have a background in carpentry either but is the handiest person I know. When I was young, I would watch him every chance I got, whether he was fixing a hole in the wall or building a desk. He taught me everything and still teaches me to this day. He even helps build mini libraries for us.”
Once friends and neighbors saw the Carbones’ mini-library, they began asking Joey to build custom little libraries for them, as well, and he obliged as much as he could, using donated materials and volunteer help from friends and neighborhood kids. He has never accepted pay for a library.
“People call me crazy for not charging for the libraries,” he continued, “but I don’t do it for the money. I do it simply because it is nice to be nice. Since we don’t charge anything for a library, we are able to reach more families. That’s what it’s all about — spreading the love of reading and knowledge and giving more access to literature. The payment I get is seeing the happy families enjoy the libraries and that is plenty for me.”
“We have all of our mini libraries in Mount Prospect, except for a few special cases. There is one at Dewey School in Evanston, another at a community garden on the south side of Chicago, and two that are technically in Des Plaines but are very, very close to Mount Prospect. We have a total of 61 mini libraries right now.”
And they are all unique neighborhood works of art, if you will – which get neighbors sharing and talking and helping one another.
“I couldn’t have done this without some wonderful and generous neighbors,” Carbone continued. “This has been a group effort in many ways. I have an amazing group of consistent volunteers that help cut wood, paint, even dig holes to install the mini libraries.”
“I’ve met so many wonderful, kind and generous people in our community and have even gained lifelong friends. I’ve also taught my two sons so much about woodworking, art, painting and philanthropy.”
While Carbone’s mini-library pre-dated the pandemic, the worldwide health crisis had an effect on it during 2020.
“The pandemic caused people to become more interested in the mini libraries — because it was a safe and fun thing to do,” Carbone said. “They are able to social distance, be outside and stay safe. This year we even had “contactless Halloween” where we had over 35 mini library “custodians” supply treats for kids that they could find via Google map.”
The Carbones and those with Carbone-built mini-libraries have even turned them into mini pantries during these difficult times.
“I had seen mini pantries online and since the pandemic made it especially hard for people to go grocery shopping, I thought we could help our community by turning our mini libraries into mini pantries,” he related. “Many helped by stocking canned goods, non-perishable foods, toilet paper, hand sanitizer and many other items in their libraries. These items were available to anyone who needed a little help with no questions asked. Everything is shared through our ‘MP Mini Library Mission’ Facebook group.”
In early February 2021 Carbone was honored for his mini-libraries by Mount Prospect’s Special Events Commission during its first-ever VIRTUAL Shining Stars Award ceremony. He received the “Home Town Award” which recognizes a group or individual that has done something special to promote the feeling of community or to further unify the diverse groups within the community and who exemplifies the village’s motto, “Where Friendliness is a Way of Life.”
St. Raymond Catholic Church outsources its Lenten Fish Fry tradition
The Catholic Friday Lenten Fish Fry tradition continued during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic but not on the church campus. Instead, St. Raymond Fish Fry committee members recruited five local restaurants to cook and serve the fish and pizza to patrons and then donate a portion of the proceeds to the church, according to Joe Irick, owner of Station 34 at 34 S. Main Street.
“Last year St. Raymond’s had asked if Station 34 would provide cheese pizzas for their Fish Fry as an alternative for those who do not consume fish,” he recalled. “Then, this year we mutually discussed putting on the Fish Fry at the restaurant and donating a portion of the proceeds back to the church since the Archdiocese of Chicago had said parishes could not do their traditional Fish Fry.”
“I asked other restaurant owners in downtown Mount Prospect to participate, too, because with the number of parishioners St. Raymond’s has, there was absolutely no way I could handle that many additional patrons on top of our usual busy Friday night business,” Irick continued. “You see, St. Raymond reported that they served between 450 and 650 people on each Fish Fry Friday, which they held every other week during the Lenten season.”
“Chris Boznelos of Mrs. P & Me was the first to hop in with us and we’re very glad he did, to help shoulder the load! In fact, I’ve heard that they are even doing a fish fry on Thursday nights, too. I also alerted the Downtown Merchants Association of this to see if they could help reach out to other restaurant owners, as well, and a few more hopped in with their assistance.”
The other participating restaurants included Canta Napoli Pizzeria and Ristorante, Jameson’s Charhouse and Mr. Beef and Pizza.
Interestingly, prior to this, Station 34 did not have fish on their menu. But Irick said that they have now expanded their Lenten season menu to include Alaskan cod.
“It’s been great! The St. Raymond members/supporters are incredible,” he continued. “Theoretically, it would be nice if this encourages more people to stop in and try Station 34. But right now, I’m just happy to be a part of such a strong tradition that I still remember fondly from my childhood.”
“St. Raymond de Penafort hopes to return to offering their traditional Fish Fry events in Lent of 2022 as it is such a sought-after community event,” said Sharon Moeykens, Engagement Director. “The parish is extremely grateful that in such a time of uncertainty, these five Mount Prospect restaurants have rallied together to creatively serve a parish and its community during Fridays in Lent this year. We hope to continue strong relationships with restaurants in the area for future events.”
Station 34 Family Pizza Meal Kits
The Station 34 Pizza Pub, 34 S. Main St. (southwest across the street from Village Hall), offered family pizza meal kits to customers locked up during the various COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. They were the brainchild and invention of Station 34 owner Joe Irick who had actually started working on the idea before the pandemic hit.
“I wanted to bring home from the restaurant a fun activity for my kids,” Irick recalled. “So, I started to experiment to find the perfect recipe for a dough ball that would work well in a regular oven. When the pandemic hit, it just made sense to make these kits available for everyone to buy so that they could have a fun experience while stuck at home. It was also another way to bring in revenue while the restaurant was closed for dining.”
“So, we added them to our menu and promoted them on local Facebook groups. Quickly, customers started to promote the product to their friends, and it became popular, so I created a separate website for more direct marketing of the Pizza Meal Kits, and it continues to grow to this day,” he explained.
“Customers love that they have a fun activity to do at home and that the pizza was truly the same quality as restaurant-style pizza. They’ve been a hit!” Irick added.
At the beginning of the pandemic when many were afraid to make a trip to the grocery store, Station 34 even offered delivery of produce, meats, cheeses and toilet paper via their website. They also partnered with Capannari’s Ice Cream to deliver their ever-so-popular pints during the winter months when their storefront is closed. Station 34 has also expanded on the food kits idea and now offers hamburger kits (during grilling season) and taco kits, too. They can all be purchased at station34pizzapub.com.