Returning restrictions, Amy Coney Barrett and the 'State of the University'
And a book about the power of Black voters throughout history
Welcome back, folks! Happy countdown to Election Day! Happy Halloween! There’s a whole lot going on in the world, and your newsletter team — Francesca, Justin, Robin, Cam, and Emmanuel — is here to break it all down.
If you’re trying to get your plan to vote together, check out our Voting Guide. It answers a lot of your “how to” questions about voting in Chicago — available in English and Spanish. This Thursday we’ll be releasing our Issues Guide, which will have more details about the actual content of your ballot.
Plus, Pueblo at 14 East has a very special event coming up this week. Check in this Wednesday, October 28 at 6:00 p.m for a discussion with authors and poets Kevin Coval and José Olivares. More info can be found at the Eventbrite page or on Pueblo’s social media.
And if you haven’t checked out our first issue of the year (applause!), you should! We put out our Policing Issue last week, with creative work, reporting and Q + As about the state of policing in Chicago and in the United States.
Drumrolllllllll please! We’ve got some very exciting news! On Friday, 14 East was awarded the Pinnacle Award for Best Four-Year College Media Outlet by the College Media Association. We want to say congratulations to all of the incredible outlets that were nominated — college journalists are working harder now than ever, and we are beyond honored to be given this award. And thank YOU, dear readers, for supporting us in the past year — we do it all for you.
On that note, let’s get into the news:
What’s happening in Chicago?
Unfortunately, this past week was another heavy week of loss and distress in the city amidst skyrocketing COVID-19 cases.
During a coronavirus briefing on Friday, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, broke down in tears while pleading with Illinoisians to social distance and wear masks to prevent a complete overflow of the hospital system and worsening the increasingly uncontrolled spread of COVID-19.
Over the weekend, another 87 people were reported to have died of COVID-19 in Illinois — 29 of whom were in Cook County, including a man in his 20s. This brings Cook County’s total deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,433, with over 177,000 cases total. The city’s positivity rate rose to 7.1 percent.
The onset of a second wave means more restrictions. Last week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a re-tightening of previous COVID-19 restrictions, such as a 10:00 p.m curfew on non-essential businesses and bars that do not serve food are prohibited from serving customers indoors. Additionally, gatherings of more than six people and any social gathering after 10:00 p.m. are highly discouraged, and suburban Cook County will also see increased restrictions.
In a press conference, Lightfoot indicated that if things do not improve, the city could see restrictions shift back to Phase 3 or even back into shelter-in-place.
"If we need to take further steps and move back to Phase 3 or even go back to shelter in place, I'm not going to hesitate to do that," Lightfoot said at the press conference.
As a result of the spike in cases, Governor J.B Pritzker has also restarted his daily coronavirus press briefings, typically at 2:30 p.m.
In budget news, the city’s aldermen are pushing back on Lightfoot’s announcement of a $94 million property tax increase in an attempt to close Chicago’s $1.2 billion budget deficit. 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman contended in the Chicago Sun-Times that these increases would be “in addition to” to a citywide reassessment of properties by the Cook County Assessor, which will be certain to levy increases as well. Other aldermen, like the 5th Ward’s Leslie Hairston, countered that in comparison to property taxes in Chicago’s surrounding suburbs, city property taxes remain low.
Between now and November 11, there will be 10 more public budget hearings that residents can attend to vocalize concerns.
Other Chicago headlines
Interested in the hearings around Mayor Lightfoot’s budget proposal? Learn more about some of the discussions raised by aldermen from WBEZ’s Becky Vevea, and about how get involved in the discussions from City Bureau’s Kelly Garcia and Corli Jay.
Illinois is set to possibly reach 11,000 deaths from COVID-19 by the end of the year, said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, earlier today. At least 9,500 Illinoisans have died so far.
On Friday, the Chicago Teachers Union filed a grievance against Chicago Public Schools regarding the lack of updating to school ventilation and the possible return to in-person learning. Union leadership is claiming that the lack of updates violates their collective bargaining agreement, according to WTTW’s Matt Masterson.
Chicago saw its first snow of the season today, surprising residents with a dip into cold weather. No worries, though — we’re expected to hit the low-50s later this week.
Amazon has been expanding across the Chicagoland area, and residents are feeling the financial impact — $741 million dollars of taxpayer funds went to tax breaks for 36 warehouses across the region, primarily located in Black communities, according to an investigation from the Better Government Association and WBEZ.
What’s happening at DePaul?
Last Thursday, President Esteban gave his annual State of the University address to the DePaul community. Among various highlighted topics was, unsurprisingly, the university’s continued response to COVID-19, a prioritization of students’ mental health and enrollment. This year, 45 percent of DePaul’s undergraduate enrollment and 39 percent of its graduate enrollment consisted of students of color, and the university is celebrating a diverse student body. Most notably, Latinx enrollment is at an all-time high at DePaul.
Looking for campus housing during Winter quarter? Make sure you review the requirements and complete the online request form. The deadline to submit requests is November 2. To be eligible for consideration for campus housing, students must meet certain requirements such as having a current living space which is unsuited to coursework, having in person classes or labs or being an international student who is required to have residency in the United States.
The DePaul Art Museum is rethinking exhibitions amid the COVID-19 pandemic with a new exhibit displaying works from Ayanah Moor. However, there’s no need to book online or worry about the hassle of going indoors at a public place to enjoy Moor’s art. To enter the exhibit, walk past the door to the art museum, through the turnstile of the Fullerton El station and up the stairs to the outbound platform. There, you will be able to view Moor’s exhibit — four billboards inspired by BLM protest and window signs hung in full view of the platform.
This experience is intended to place the viewer in between two places of being both in a museum and a non-museum space, a reflection of how communities of color often feel alienated in participating in environments and societal systems that historically have not included them. At DePaul, this takes on a dual meaning to highlight this conversation in places of academia, as the platform exhibit also exists as a place that is both on and off-campus. Moor’s exhibit will be on display in person and online until December 28.
If you don’t want to read the news, here’s the headlines to know.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett is set to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. This decision comes after Democrats failed to slow the process through a filibuster. If Judge Barrett is officially confirmed, her appointment would give conservatives a majority and could threaten rights and protections for millions, The New York Times reports.
Vox reports on the #EndSars campaign tied to not only police brutality in Nigeria, but also the stand young Nigerians are taking to end the abuse of murder and extortion. The #EndSars campaign has even caught the attention of presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the White House had “effectively given up on trying to slow the virus’s spread,” according to the Washington Post. The focus is now on trying to get vaccines. Presidential nominee Joe Biden responded saying that President Trump’s strategy has been to “wave the white flag of defeat and hope the virus would go away,” per the article.
The Chicago Tribune reports President Trump and presidential nominee Joe Biden hit battleground states ahead of election day. Trump is expected to visit about a dozen states, while Joe Biden will visit six battleground states, including Georgia where there’s a tight race.
Your Educational Resource of the Week
Each week we will be using this section to highlight a different educational resource on race. It may come in the form of literature, film, art or anything that Black scholars, artists and activists are centering at this time.
With Election Day on the horizon, this week’s educational resource is Say It Louder! by Tiffany D. Cross. In her book, Cross examines the role of Black voters in U.S. politics, and she discusses how they can use their role to affect elections and overcome voter suppression efforts.You can find this book online or in-person at a branch of the Chicago Public Library or at Semicolon bookstore and gallery, an independent, Black woman owned-bookstore and gallery space in Chicago.
Resources for returning students
773-325-7290 and deanofstudents@depaul.edu
The Dean of Students’ Office provides a variety of resources like the Student Emergency Assistance Fund (SEAF) and academic assistance.
Provides financial assistance to students.
Located in the Lincoln Park Student Center, the student food pantry is free and available to all students during limited hours. DePaul ID required for access.
Provides funding for projects led by faculty, staff and student groups.
An online portal linking students to all sorts of virtual events on campus.
A database created by the Illinois Department of Health of all testing centers in the state.
The Chicago Queer Exchange is a network of individuals across Chicago working in collective unity to help those within the LGBTQ+ community. It offers a wide variety of services from cheap furniture to emergency housing and more.
I-Share is a network between libraries across Illinois that allows for reciprocal lending of books and materials to students, even if they don’t attend the college or university they’re borrowing from. DePaul recently updated their I-Share protocol in light of the university physically reopening.
Mental Health Resources
At Open Counseling, there’s a list of people and non-profits with counseling services available for free or low cost.
The Center on Halsted offers behavioral health, anti-violence and educational resources for LGBTQIA+ people.
Howard Brown Health offers anti-racism resources and sliding scale counseling specializing in the LGBTQ+ community.
This document is a resource for Black people experiencing racial trauma. This master list includes specific resources as well as protesting tips and donation links.
This link is a directory of Black therapists in Chicago
This link is a directory of Black therapists in Chicago who provide services for under $75
Here’s 7 virtual mental health resources supporting Black people right now, including Chicago-based community organization Sista Afya’s support groups
And the Trans Lifeline’s Peer Support Hotline is a resource operated by transgender and nonbinary staffers for the trans community: 877-565-8860.
The Center for Religion and Psychotherapy in Chicago is a nonprofit that provides affordable, sliding-scale counseling. Call (312) 263-4368 extension 9081 to schedule an
Where to Access Food in Chicago
Freefood.org has a running list of free food resources for those in need.
Brave Space Alliance has a crisis food pantry for Black and trans individuals in need. If you would like to request assistance from Brave Space Alliance, fill out this form.
This spreadsheet highlights businesses and locations providing food. There are also links to donate to these organizations.
Check out the Greater Chicago Food Depository for food banks or donate.
Free Resources for Non-Black Allies
The NPR podcast “Code Switch” tackles a diverse array of topics centered around racial identities and racism in America.
Reading guide of texts about race. All PDFs are free.
Here’s a guide to protest safely during the pandemic
Here’s the ACLU’s Right to Protest guide for Illinois
If you think someone you know has been arrested – call the Chicago Community bail fund at 773-309-1198 to locate them (you need to know their birthdate and full legal name)
Want to increase your awareness about environmental racism, racism in the medical field or another specific subject? Here’s a database by activist and artist Angelina Ruiz, which details reading lists over a range of subject matter pertaining to race.
That’s all from us this week and your newsletter team — Francesca, Justin, Robin, Cam and Emmanuel — signing off. Check back next Monday with more Chicago + national updates and important election information. Have a nice week!