A few days ago John Kass of the Tribune asked a curious question about election day in Illinois. With all of these closings and the restrictions of no gatherings of 100 or more folks, why on 17 March are the elections in Illinois still taking place? If you’ve ever been to a Chicago polling place (and I have been to dozens working as a Chicago cop) they sometimes are held in cramped basements, storefronts, and schools where scores of people wait in line, use pencils, pens, and touch machines to cast votes. Kass has the answer, because, well, its politics you know. The lower the turnout the better it is for the selected Democratic favorites. Folks who need the machine candidates for such things as jobs, union salaries, and favorable contracts, (you know! the great hidden Machine) WILL make it to the polls come hell or high water.  Those Machine regulars that keep the 89-year tradition of Democratic rule going in Chicago and Pritzker is a member of that Tribe.

Being a Chicago cop for 33 years, I can honestly say, I’m not surprised by second guessers, neither am I sensitive to them. A cop’s life is sometimes challenged to make a split-second life decision that sometimes is scrutinized for years. There are so many agencies and keyboard experts that bubble up after the fact, to list them would take up this entire post. Starting with the press and ending with all the experts on social media it’s a favorite past time for thousands of critics who are weighing in, even before the facts are completely known, most times relying upon a snippet from a video from an I phone cinematographer. So I have put some thought into my curiosity without second-guessing a governor no less.

I agree the Coronavirus is a dangerous killer and steps had to be taken to save lives.  Even if we look back on all the precautions in the future and realize maybe we overreacted to the threat. The Marine Corps teaches that all threats have to be eliminated, to not do so is dangerous and can lead to dire consequences, so the hell with people being inconvenienced. Bars, restaurants, and most gathering places, including all schools in Illinois, and hundreds of more places of close encounters are shut down until further notice, on orders from the Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker, non-affectionately called “Toilets” by his critics for being a billionaire and removing toilets from a property he owned in order to beat paying $300,000 in property taxes, an issue still possibly under scrutiny by the U.S Attorneys office. I insert that because to some people it goes right to character, something Illinois has had trouble with in selecting governors. See Blago, Ryan, Kerner, and Walker all did time in prison.

For the last 6 days, the governor probably has become a bigger star than President Trump. Every newscast and newspaper breathlessly await his every word on the latest edict, whether it be the closing of schools, institutions, bars, and restaurants or a scorecard of every new Coronavirus case that pops up in Illinois. Now all of this Pritzker protection takes a wee bit of a turn. As Kass has reported a week before the election,  the Cook County Board of Elections made a plea to the Governors Office to postpone the election because of obvious concerns of safety for election workers, and voters alike. Election Judges were dropping out because of virus fears and several locations had to be changed at the last minute. Of course, the answer from the Governor was full speed ahead, the election will not be called off. Now here is where my antenna started to buzz around my head. They offered the assistance of the NATIONAL GUARD to help cope with any problems that might arise.

I have no problem with the safety measures in place. The virus is a killer and unless measures are taken, if past history means anything pandemics and epidemics kill massive amounts of people. The Asian Flu in 1957 killed 70,000 Americans;  the Hong Kong Flu in 1968-69 killed 33,000;  and of course, the Spanish Flu killed at least 50 million worldwide. Governor Pritzker has been in office for 14 months and take my word this is not his first epidemic. Chicago and Cook County have been dealing with another epidemic that just keeps rolling along, THE VIOLENCE EPIDEMIC. I will give you the numbers and you decide for yourself. In the last 6 1/2 years over 3,700 souls have been murdered in Chicago and well over 20,000 have been shot. Maybe not pandemic but surely an epidemic. At least from my standards.

As you can see in the above photo it’s continuing virtually unabated and skyrocketing upwards. That headline drew no gubernatorial press conferences or mayoral press conferences for that matter. In fact Mayor Lightfoot seemed so shocked by it she asked the University of Chicago Crime lab if they had an answer. Now their answer holds a curious thought in our minds, I say ours because even the lowest beat cop knew the answer to all the “VIOLENT CRIME IS DOWN” crap the politicians were selling last year.

It was the WEATHER stupid. 2019 was the year of the POLAR VORTEX that lasted through March and April which is prime gang killing season. In fact, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his hand-picked Police Superintendent  Gary McCarthy always maintained that weather had nothing to do with crime.  That is until it did and then the spin started. When McCarthy pushed this theme you can bet any credibility he did have slipped into the abyss. However, it seems that they had to hear it from high academia (University of Chicago) Violent crime was down in 2019 and skyrocketed in 2020 because of weather conditions. All that blather about scientific methods and better cop strategies was all bullshit.

Yea! respect the Pandemic, do everything possible to keep people from harm’s way, but my question is why are we not treating the epidemic of gang killings and wounding our youth with a sense of emergency. So far Illinois has had one death from the Coronavirus and 160 souls infected a number sure to grow rapidly as we move along. In 2 1/2  months, Chicago has had over 95 people murdered,a startling 43% increase from 2019 and over 450 people wounded. Anybody who buys into that crime is down dance is having a heaping gulp of cool-aid. Governor Pritzker are you noticing or am I missing something?  Chicago’s cops have no less than 14 oversight watchdogs, including the press and 1,000s social media experts. Chicago’s gangs who are involved in thousands of shootings and killings have NONE. Chicago even lacks a stand-alone Gang Crimes Investigative Unit. WHY?  Because it’s curious.

PLAN FOR THE DAY ON SELF-ISOLATION, 1.

Day 1.

A new concept in our society, and in my life.

The list of things I am allowed to do grows shorter instead of longer.

I finished breakfast and drank my coffee while looking out the glass balcony door at the sunshine. The squirrels, chipmunks and birds are eating in the sunshine.

I finished a beautiful little book from a friend, “I Wish for You.” It can only make one feel better.

I called a friend who has a chronic medical condition and is now on isolation per her Palliative Care doctor. I am not even allowed to visit but we talk on the phone. Still, we always feel better after we talk. She is like a sister I did not have.

I will do laundry and clean my small apartment. That is a big job in itself.

The sunshine calls me so I will also go for another walk, by myself, then with my dog, and maybe, yes, I will take her for a ride in the car with the windows rolled partway down so she can stick her head out.

Later I will pay a few bills and write a few small checks to my favorite charities. I cannot save the world. It is difficult enough trying to figure out my own spiritual journey, yet I continue trying to make a positive difference in these infinitesimally small ways.

I will be kind to strangers I meet and continue believing that all of us can, are able to, and will discover that we are all kindred spirits, all trying to survive together on this small planet, racing somewhere through the Universe.

March 17, 2020

 The City of Chicago will be temporarily suspending debt collection practices and non-safety related citations and impounds, as well as penalties for late payment

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced that the City of Chicago will be temporarily suspending debt collection practices and non-safety related citations and impounds, as well as penalties for late payment taking effect immediately today through April 30, 2020.

Residents who owe debt will not face ticket doubling and defaults on payment plans during the health crisis.

Ticket Issuance

• Enforcement will be prioritized for safety-related violations.
• Enforcement on compliance-related violations will be suspended until April 30, 2020

Parking, Red Light, Speed Camera Violation Collections

• Delay assessment of penalty (ticket doubling) until after April 30, 2020 
• Delay driver’s license suspension until after April 30, 2020
• No Booting until after April 30, 2020
• Delay referral of tickets to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
• No defaults of payment plans for until after April 30, 2020 

Utility Bills

• Extend due dates until after April 30, 2020 delaying assessment of penalties
• Delay referrals to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
• No defaults of payment plans until after April 30, 2020

Administrative Hearing Collections

• Extend due dates until after April 30, 2020 (this will delay assessment of interest)
• Delay referrals to collection firms until after April 30, 2020
• No defaults of payment plans until after April 30, 2020

Other Collection Efforts

• Extend deadline for TNP and taxi drivers to pay debt to April 30
• No debt holds on new licenses or permits
• Law firms and collection agencies will cease collection efforts.

For updates and information on City policies related to COVID-19 go to the City of Chicago website.

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I was talking to a friend today when she mentioned two close friends of hers are on blood pressure medication.

Because I, unfortunately, have been attuned to the Novel Coronavirus outbreak for some time I had logged away in my brain something about the possibility —note, the possibility— of those who take certain types of blood pressure medicine may be more at risk from serious complications from the virus.

This is from the medical journal, The Lancet, published online March 11, 2020:

The most distinctive comorbidities of 32 non-survivors from a group of 52 intensive care unit patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the study by Xiaobo Yang and colleagues1 were cerebrovascular diseases (22%) and diabetes (22%). Another study2 included 1099 patients with confirmed COVID-19, of whom 173 had severe disease with comorbidities of hypertension (23·7%), diabetes mellitus (16·2%), coronary heart diseases (5·8%), and cerebrovascular disease (2·3%). In a third study,3 of 140 patients who were admitted to hospital with COVID-19, 30% had hypertension and 12% had diabetes. Notably, the most frequent comorbidities reported in these three studies of patients with COVID-19 are often treated with angiotensinconverting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors; however, treatment was not assessed in either study.

And, from the same publication:

Human pathogenic coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus [SARS-CoV] and SARSCoV-2) bind to their target cells through angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is expressed by epithelial cells of the lung, intestine, kidney, and blood vessels.4 The expression of ACE2 is substantially increased in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, who are treated with ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II type-I receptor blockers (ARBs).4 Hypertension is also treated with ACE inhibitors and ARBs, which results in an upregulation of ACE2.5 ACE2 can also be increased by thiazolidinediones and ibuprofen. These data suggest that ACE2 expression is increased in diabetes and treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs increases ACE2 expression. Consequently, the increased expression of ACE2 would facilitate infection with COVID-19. We therefore hypothesise that diabetes and hypertension treatment with ACE2-stimulating drugs increases the risk of developing severe and fatal COVID-19. I

The American College of Cardiology released the following March 17, 2020:

The ACC concludes:

Currently there are no experimental or clinical data demonstrating beneficial or adverse outcomes with background use of ACE inhibitors, ARBs or other RAAS antagonists in COVID-19 or among COVID-19 patients with a history of cardiovascular disease treated with such agents. The HFSA, ACC, and AHA recommend continuation of RAAS antagonists for those patients who are currently prescribed such agents for indications for which these agents are known to be beneficial, such as heart failure, hypertension, or ischemic heart disease. In the event patients with cardiovascular disease are diagnosed with COVID-19, individualized treatment decisions should be made according to each patient’s hemodynamic status and clinical presentation. Therefore, be advised not to add or remove any RAAS-related treatments, beyond actions based on standard clinical practice.

Please contact your doctor if you are taking ACE inhibitors or ARBS for blood pressure or diabetes or heart disease.  Reference the above, linked  Lancet article.   Some people on ACE and ARBS have contacted their doctors and made changes in their medications.

Others, like my friend’s friends, concluded that their doctors will let them know if there are increased dangers.

Doctors are busy on any given day.  On the days heading into a tsunami of sickness, they may want to call but can’t.

News GP has a good article explaining the interaction of ACE inhibitors and ARBs

This video interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci from today, March 18, 2020, has a segment on blood pressure medications and Covid-19 at 10:30 into the interview.

Science-based channels focusing on Covid-19:

Dr. John Campbell

MedCram

Broadway in Chicago has revised their scheduling for upcoming productions saying “the safety and health of our patrons, staff and theatrical companies is our top priority.”

The revisions listed here include some cancellations including “GOSHEN” originality scheduled for May 22-31, 2020 at Broadway Place House; “What the Constitution Means to Me’ scheduled for April 14-19 at Broadway Playhouse and “Once Upon a One More Time” scheduled for April 14-May 17 as James M Nederlander Theatre.

The highly anticipated “My Fair Lady” scheduled for March 24 – April 12, 2020 at Cadillac Palace Theatre has been rescheduled for over a year from now to May 12-23, 2021.

 Here is the entire list of BOC updates of canceled and rescheduled productions due to  COVID-19 (coronavirus):

• KEANE – CAUSE AND EFFECT TOUR, CADILLAC PALACE THEATRE, MARCH 20, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO DATE TBD
• MY FAIR LADY, CADILLAC PALACE THEATRE, MARCH 24 – APRIL 12, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO MAY 12 – 23, 2021
• WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME, BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE, ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED THROUGH APRIL 12, 2020 – CANCELLED
• ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME, JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE, ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED APRIL 14 – MAY 17, 2020 – CANCELLED
• THE CHOIR OF MAN, BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE, APRIL 14 – 19, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 2 – 7, 2021
• THE CROWN – LIVE!, BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE, APRIL 21 – 26, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 23 – 28, 2021
• THE OFFICE! A MUSICAL PARODY, BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE, APRIL 28 – MAY 17, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY 9 – 21, 2021
• THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY, CIBC THEATRE, MAY 12 – 17, 2020 IS RESCHEDULED TO DECEMBER 1 – 6, 2020
• GOSHEN,  BROADWAY PLAYHOUSE,  MAY 22 – 31, 2020 – CANCELLED

Ticket Holder information

Ticket holders for the above productions, including refunds for WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME, ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME and GOSHEN

AND refunds or exchanges for KEANE, MY FAIR LADY, THE CHOIR OF MAN, THE CROWN – LIVE, THE OFFICE! A MUSICAL PARODY and THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY should contact their point of purchase.  

• If you purchased through Ticketmaster, call 800-775-2000 or click here for more information.
• If you purchased through the box office, call Broadway In Chicago Customer Service 312-977-1702, [email protected].
• If you are a Broadway In Chicago Subscriber, call 312-977-1717, [email protected]
• If you purchased your tickets through Broadway In Chicago Group Sales call 312-977-1710, [email protected]

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At this point, if you’re not slathering your doorknobs, refrigerator door handles, toilet levers, keyboards, remotes and phone screens with oceans of disinfectant (if you can even find some), you probably won’t take my or anyone else’s advice.

But I’m continually discovering places and things we touch all the time that never occurred to me to clean on a regular or daily basis before, and it’s downright gross.

Without further ado, here’s a list of things that may not be on our radar:

1. The blind opener-thingie

Think about how many times a day or week you might touch this. I wipe down the blinds themselves pretty regularly, but right now we should be disinfecting this pretty much daily especially if there are multiple people living in the house.

2. This may be one of the more obvious ones, but light switches are another thing we don’t realize how much we touch all day long.

3. Along the same lines, switches on lamps.

4. Keys

That includes not only house keys but car door opener fobs. How many of us think to regularly wash our keys? I gave mine a bleach soak and it’s going to be the first of many.

5. The handles and knobs of dresser drawers

6. The cleaning supplies themselves.

Who thinks to clean the cleaning stuff? This includes most of all handles of brooms and mops. And also the outsides and the triggers of spray bottles.

7. The squirt thing on top of hand soap.

Think of how many times you press on it daily with dirty fingers.

8. Another more obvious one: Steering wheels, radio and heat controls, and basically everything else you touch on the dashboard of your car.

9. Of course, anything that has a knob of any kind. That includes stovetop controls, washer/dryer, etc.

10. Anything with a twist cap.

This includes nail polish bottles, perfume, makeup, etc.

There’s much more that can be added to this list. If you can think of anything please suggest!

And stay safe and well.