Chicago will cautiously reopen in early June, mayor says

CHICAGO — The city of Chicago is on pace to begin cautiously reopening and ease restrictions on certain activities in early June, with outdoor dining at restaurants, barber shops, non-lakefront park buildings and libraries slated to resume limited business, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.

If safety measures can be put in place, Lightfoot also said the city could potentially reopen summer programs and allow private camps, religious services, gyms, museums and the lakefront later on in the summer.

Schools, playgrounds, bars, stadiums and music venues will remain closed for now, she said.

Though the city announced a general timeline, officials said they will be releasing more information next week about industry-specific rules and regulations for reopening.

Still, the news is likely to be a welcome relief for restive residents and business owners who want to return to some degree of normalcy, even with restrictions.

As with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Restore Illinois” plan, Lightfoot’s framework sets a high bar for returning to normalcy.

Lightfoot can’t set looser standards than the statewide ones laid out by the governor, but she can tailor them to the city. Her plan is “specifically designed for Chicago’s residents and businesses, and encompassing a clear, data-driven five-phase process,” she previously said.

With all regions of the state on track to move to the next phase of Pritzker’s Restore Illinois reopening plan next Friday, the governor announced restaurants could reopen for outdoor dining as soon as next week.

Under Lightfoot’s reopening timeline, child care centers, park facilities outside of the lakefront, libraries, office-based jobs, professional and real estate services, hotels and outdoor attractions including some boating and non-lakefront golf courses will be allowed to open, the city said.

Nonessential retail stores, hair salons, barbershops and tattoo parlors also will be able to open.

Social gatherings will still be limited to fewer than 10 people, however, and the city still encourages residents to stay 6 feet apart and wear a face covering.

On Thursday, Lightfoot said restaurants won’t be allowed to reopen as soon as next week but she expects it to have outdoor seating. Lightfoot also wants restaurants to have indoor dining options, which she acknowledged would need approval from the state.

“No restaurant I know of is going to be able to survive dependent upon what the weather is going to be like on a particular day in Chicago,” Lightfoot said. “I think having the opportunity to do it and dine alfresco on a larger scale, which is what we certainly are talking about, is important, but they also need to be able to be inside as well, or economically I don’t think the numbers work.”

Chicago is in what the city calls Phase 2 of its recovery, a period Lightfoot’s plan dubs “stay-at-home.”

Before moving into Phase 3, labeled “cautiously reopen,” the city would need to see a decline in the COVID-19 case rate over 14 days and a declining rate of new cases, stable or declining rates of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths, fewer than 1,800 coronavirus patients in hospital beds, fewer than 600 coronavirus patients in ICU beds and fewer than 450 coronavirus patients on ventilators, Lightfoot said.

The city also would need to be able to test 135,000 residents per month, with positive rates decreasing below 15% of those tested in the community and at least 14 days of declining rates of new cases, on average. Positive rates of below 30% would be needed in “congregate” settings such as nursing homes, shelters and jails, according to the Lightfoot plan.