School of Music Organizes 'Performathon,' Financial and Mental Health Management Tips
And the approaching end of poetry month
Welcome back friends,
It’s your Monday team (on Tuesday, there was a mishap sending last night) — Patsy Newitt, Grace Del Vecchio and Cam Rodriguez — back and better than ever (well, sort of)!
This week we bring you reports of virtual Ramadan celebrations, mask requirements and rooftop ducklings (just wait, you’ll see). While we know it may be disheartening to be separated from your friends and loved ones, we encourage you to hang in there.
If you’ve been following our COVID-19 coverage, Block Club Chicago’s coverage or are interested in learning more about reporting during the pandemic, attend our virtual Public Newsroom tonight at 6 p.m. over Zoom.
Block Club’s Breaking News Editor Kelly Bauer will talk about her reporting for the first half hour, and then you'll hear from some of our newsletter team. Email Engagement Editor Francesca Matthewes (franmathewes98@gmail.com) for the link and password.
Without further ado, here’s what you need to know.
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What’s the latest at DePaul?
Ramadan Mubarak everyone! As a way of commemorating Ramadan, DePaul’s Muslim Chaplain, Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan, shares a message of faith at the end of each week during Ramadan. You can find these messages at DePaul’s University of Mission and Ministry YouTube channel.
Making plans to reunite with your friends/coworkers at DePaul? Well, you’re gonna have to postpone them. In its April 24 update, the university announced that all DePaul employees should plan to work from home until at least June 12.
Miss sneaking into the School of Music? Yeah, so do we. But good news, on Saturday, May 2, DePaul’s School of Music and Community Music Division will be hosting a free virtual music “performathon.” You can find more details about the performances here.
Just in case online retail therapy has been your coping mechanism while staying at home, DePaul Business Professor and Psychologist William “Marty” Martin gives advice on both financial and mental health management during this uncertain time.
What’s happening in Chicago?
A lawsuit filed last week by Xenia’s Republican State Rep. Darren Bailey that said Governor J.B. Pritzker shouldn’t be able to enforce a stay-at-home order was successful yesterday, putting the order in jeopardy. This means cities could start reopening after April 30, though Pritzker has asked them not to. Pritzker said yesterday that this is a “danger to millions of people who may get ill because of his recklessness.”
Good news on Illinois’s testing capacity. On Saturday, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced that Illinois surpassed the state’s goal of testing 10,000 people per day for the second day in a row with over 11,000 tested. On Friday, Illinois administered 16,124 tests in 24 hours. He said in his press conference yesterday that these high testing numbers are in part responsible for Illinois’s high number of confirmed cases. And that the number of people being treated for coronavirus has leveled off, with an increase of 73 patients in the past week.
Pritzker announced on Friday that gig workers are finally being encouraged to apply for unemployment benefits after six weeks. The CARES Act, passed by Congress last month, ensured gig workers would have access to funds but state systems weren’t set up to process the change. Pritzker also specified his mask requirement – saying that starting this Friday, May 1, Illinois businesses can ask customers to leave if they aren’t wearing a face covering.
Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot both called out a house party in Belmont Cragin caught on video this weekend. Lightfoot said yesterday that the city is investigating the specific location. “Everybody involved in that bears a level of responsibility,” she said.
Chi COVID Coach, the Chicago Department of Public Health’s web-based app, was released yesterday that allows Chicagoans to pre-register for the vaccine (not expected until 2021). The app helps the department communicate with citizens with services like offering daily check-ins, advice on how to prepare your household for the coronavirus and a symptom coach. It also helps the city know who has symptoms to provide antibody tests once available.
On Sunday, Pritzker announced that teachers should prepare for remote learning in the fall, just in case. Even though he hasn’t made a decision about what summer and fall will look like for Illinois Public Schools, e-learning will likely be used after the pandemic.
As of yesterday, 1,983 people have died due to COVID-19 in Illinois. A total of 45,883 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, including 1,980 new cases in the past day, Pritzker announced.
Other Chicago News:
Special education students are having a particularly hard time during the COVID-19 school shutdown, by the Chicago Tribune’s Hannah Leone and Karen Ann Cullotta
Lightfoot said Trump has done an “abysmal” job at responding to COVID-19 and can’t judge Illinois, by Block Club Chicago’s Kelly Bauer
Lightfoot can see baseball returning in the summer without fans, by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman
A hospital in North Lawndale is so full they have to intubate COVID-19 patients outside the ICU, by Block Club Chicago’s Pascal Sabino
Many essential workers in Chicago are people of color and live in lower-income neighborhoods, by Chicago Tribune’s Jessica Villagomez (DePaul alum!)
Lightfoot has been granted emergency powers to make decisions without City Council, by Block Club Chicago’s Hannah Alani and Kelly Bauer
There’s been a jump in COVID-19 deaths at some Illinois long-term healthcare facilities, according to newly released data, by Chicago Tribune’s Joe Mahr and Patrick N. O’Connell
The Little Village dust cloud didn’t contain asbestos or toxic metals, the city said, by Block Club Chicago’s Mauricio Peña
If you don’t want to watch the news, here are the national headlines to know:
After Thursday’s White House briefing in which President Donald Trump suggested scientists test if disinfectants could be injected inside the human body to fight the novel coronavirus, the president and his staff have said his comments were “sarcastic,” reports The Washington Post’s Allyson Chiu, Katie Shepherd, Brittany Shammas and Colby Itkowitz
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization warned that there is no evidence yet of immunity to COVID-19 after an initial infection, NBC News’s Yuliya Talmazan reports
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added six new symptoms to its COVID-19 list, NPR’s Scott Neuman reports. Symptoms include chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell
The Paycheck Protection Program opened again yesterday for applications (the part of the CARES Act designed to provide loans to small businesses that will be forgiven if they keep their employees on). However, the first round received criticism for giving large, troubled companies bailouts, according to the New York Times’s Jessica Silver Greenberg, David Enrich, Jesse Drucker and Stacy Cowley
Some parts of the U.S. are beginning to open up, however it isn’t without confusion over differing rules/guidelines from local, state and federal officials, by the NYTimes staff
As the U.S. recovers from the COVID-19 health crisis, it may see an unemployment rate comparable to what happened during the Great Depression, Trump’s economic advisor said Sunday on ABC’s This Week
New Zealand is lifting most of its COVID-19-related restrictions as its Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it has defeated the virus for now, NPR’s Scott Neuman reports
On to other news… What would you do if ducks hatched on the roof of your next door building?
Sunday morning, Event Planner Justin Myers noticed something a bit unusual when he looked out his window. A mother duck had nested on the roof of the next-door building, the Lakeview Men’s Club, and the eggs had hatched.
“I was shocked, but I instantly knew something had to be done,” Myers said. “Unlike a lot of birds, ducks nest on the ground, and their babies don't fly until much later. They were stuck up there three stories up. There wasn't any food or water of any type on the roof, and I could visibly see that the mother was worried.”
Myers called 311, Chicago’s non-emergency number, and said they didn’t seem too concerned.
Recently, Justin has been working on a story for 14 East Live, a (now) virtual storytelling event we will host at the end of May. His story is about biodiversity and the conservation of natural areas in Chicago so he interviewed the president of the Bird Conservation Network (BCN). Yesterday, Justin decided to connect BCN with the Lakeview Men’s Club.
Within an hour, people connected to Lakeview Men’s Club gathered the 12 ducklings into a paper bag and waited for the BCN to arrive.
“The mother got territorial towards the men's club people and avoided capture,” Myers said. “Once the experts finally got there, the baby ducks were moved to a mesh tent with water to attempt to lure the mother back.”
Yesterday, Myers said the situation had been resolved. However, he isn’t sure if the BCN was ever able to find the mother duck.
Justin Myers, 14 East
How have you been finding joy and staying connected? Send videos to joyduringcovid19@gmail.com to be featured in an upcoming 14 East story.
Saying goodbye to National Poetry Month
In the words of someone, somewhere (Attribution? Who is she?), “all good things must come to an end.” In this case, this good thing is National Poetry Month. If you’re new to the scene, Patricia Haney, a WRD and English creative writing student, peer tutor and head writing fellow at DePaul’s University Center for Writing-Based Learning (UCWbL), spent the month of April sending thrice-weekly poetry installments via email.
If you missed any of her poetry selections, we have done you the favor of copying them all below, and don’t worry — you can read them even when it’s no longer National Poetry Month.
📝 “Choi Jeong Min” and “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On" by Franny Choi
📝 “Movement Song” and “Hanging Fire" by Audre Lorde
📝 “My Gender is My Race is My Gender” and “Reincarnation” by Alok Said-Menon
📝 “Dinosaurs in the Hood” and “The 17-Year-Old & the Gay Bar” by Danez Smith
📝 “My Lover Is A Woman” by Pat Parker and “To Live in the Borderlands” by Gloria Anzaldúa
📝 “Poem for My Love” and “Problems of Translation: Problems of Language” by June Jordan
📝 “Asking About You” and “Changing What We Mean” by Eloise Klein Healy
📝 “Yr Not Exotic, but One Ya Wanted to Be” and “The Poem You’ve Been Waiting For” by Tarfia Faizullah
📝 “All Trains Are Going Local” and “The Lovers” by Timothy Liu
📝 “Yolk” and “The Type" by Sarah Kay
Have any questions about her poem selections? Email Patricia at haney.patricia18@gmail.com.
Bored?
Watch DJ DNices’s live stream DJ set that happens almost every night for several hours (it rocks)
On Wednesday, Offset, Young Thug, Rich the Kid and Saint Jhn are teaming up to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank with a livestream 4 to 6 p.m. PDT on Oculus Venues
Watch comedian Mike’s Mic give the case for why Dance Moms is actually about organic chemistry or make ratatouille using only the movie as reference
Play some digital pictionary with skribbl. You can create a private room to play with friends of if your friends are too busy sitting at their house you can play with strangers
Contemplate whether Liz Phair’s 2003 self-titled album deserved the 0.0 rating that Pitchfork gave it, despite having numerous bops like “Why Can’t I” and “Extraordinary.” Send your answers to patsynewitt@gmail.com and she will respond
Overwhelmed?
Listen to some COVID-19-related ASMR like the toilet paper salesman or vaccine roleplay
Watch Alpay Efe’s Bob Ross-esque painting videos that encourage viewers to try painting in any capacity
Contact Illinois’ Call4Calm mental health resources. Residents can text TALK for English or HABLAR for Spanish to 552-020 and the state will put them in touch with a counselor
Call 312-747-1020 for free teletherapy services at Chicago Department of Public Health Mental Health Centers
Call 833-626-4244 for the NAMI Chicago Helpline or 833-TURN-123 for the Bright Star Community Outreach to speak to a mental health counselor
If it’s late at night: text HELLO to 741741. Crisis Text Line is a 24-hour hotline that serves anyone, in any type of crisis
Want to help?
Donate to or buy a gift card from this list of Chicago restaurants
Here’s Chicago organizer Kelly Hayes’ mutual aid form to sign up to help
Sign up to do senior wellness checks for My Block My Hood My City
Need financial assistance?
Need food or supplies?
Text 312-775-2391 or email LakeviewMutualAid@gmail.com for food, prescription pick-ups, caregiving, medical supplies and more – ”prioritizing folks who are sick, disabled, low-income, elderly, undocumented and Black, Indeginous and/or People of Color”
Need more information on COVID-19?
Here’s a spreadsheet of COVID-19 resources for undocumented individuals, by UndocuScholars
With thoughts, prayers and virtual hugs, we wish you all the very best. As usual, wash those hands, wear those masks and tell your mommas you love them.
All the best,
Patsy, Grace and Cam
We do this because we think it's an important public service. But if you would like to support this work on Venmo @fourteeneastmag, or tell your friends to sign up for this newsletter — it'd be greatly appreciated.