While the surge of COVID-19 cases prompted Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to place the city of nearly 3 million under a stay-at-home order last month, there are many who still carry on as if the novel coronavirus is not a significant health problem.
During the last week of March, Chicago police wrote 869 “dispersement” citations, doled out seven tickets, and even made one arrest. The beginning of this month saw authorities hand down 269 additional warnings and issue three more tickets, as well as make two more arrests.
Most of the offenses were committed on the West Side or along the North Side lakefront.
Lightfoot’s order took the unprecedented step of barring public access to all city parks, the downtown Riverwalk, the “606” trail and almost 30 miles of trails along Lake Michigan, which is a popular draw when the mercury rises.
As of May 10, Illinois reported 77,741 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 3,406 deaths. Cook County has 21,705 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
